By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
SCOTTSBURG – Build it, and they will come. If Scottsburg’s Legion Field, a natural-turf postcard setting tucked next to a corn field in southern Indiana style, is a football version of Field of Dreams, the Warriors needed a few ghosts and legends to walk out between the stalks. They could not catch this one.
Bedford North Lawrence did come, for the first time, and turned the picturesque into a nightmarish Stephen King short story. The Stars were the Children of the Corn, making short work of this series debut.
With Malakai Goodman shattering a school record, with a demonic defense that walked between the rows to force four turnovers, BNL hammered out a 48-0, mercy-rule triumph on Friday night. Goodman exploded for 228 rushing yards, scored four touchdowns, and rewrote the script by breaking Kraig Smoot’s single-season mark of 1,456 yards in 2010.
Playing on real grass for the first time since the 2022 sectional did not slow down the Stars. Goodman, who ranks fifth in the state in rushing yards, blasted past the record with only 13 carries. Cutler Chastain threw for 171 yards and two TDs, Jackson Jones picked off two passes in the defensive secondary, and Cam Gates scooped a fumble on the fly and raced 70 yards for a score. BNL crashed to a 41-0 lead at halftime, triggering the running clock for a mercifully-brief second half and spoiling Scottsburg’s senior celebration.
BNL (6-2) bounced back from the devastating loss to Floyd Central last week with its most complete performance of the season. From horror story and heartbreak to happily-ever-after highlights in one week, the Stars were physical and dominant.
”We expect to do this,” BNL coach Brayden Tidd said. “Not just to them, but to most teams. I think we are that good. We finally played a full game. We need to do that every game, set the tone. If we do that, especially up front, there’s not a lot of limits to this team.”
Goodman knew no limits. He erupted for 50 yards on his first touch, leading to a one-yard touchdown to finish the first drive, and he caught a 34-yard pass from Chastain (set up by a Jones pick of the first Scottsburg pass) for a quick 14-0 lead.
On BNL’s first drive of the second quarter, Goodman broke a 65-yard touchdown – that was erased by a downfield holding penalty. No problem, he just took the next one the distance for a 21-0 advantage.
“He’s a stud,” Tidd said. “We ask him to be Superman, and he does it.”
Turnovers haunted the Warriors (4-4) on the next two possessions. Starting quarterback Caleb Salas, chased from the pocket and making progress, got crushed from behind by BNL’s Drake Sargent, with the ball popping loose. Gates snagged it in stride and took off, weaving through Warriors for a 28-0 lead. Jones pocketed his second interception to end the next drive, and Goodman’s 16-yard jaunt (to break the record) set up his 3-yard score.
BNL’s final touchdown of the half took only 30 seconds following a red-zone stop. Goodman zoomed for 44 yards, and Chastain connected with Gates for a 33-yard touchdown pass.
The Stars added a second-half touchdown as Chastain shoveled a short pass to Jaden Gilbert, who did the bulk of the work for a 45-yard score. Gilbert finished with six catches for 77 yards.
Goodman now has 1,533 yards this year, a remarkable total considering he was the second option until starter Brody Horton suffered a knee injury in Week 2. That has become BNL’s Wally Pipp moment (the man who lost his job to New York Yankees legend Lou Gehrig).
“At the beginning of the season, I didn’t expect to go back there,” Goodman said. “But my running back goes down, I had to do something about it. It’s all for Brody. It’s for the injured players, and I can’t do anything without my line.”
”When we have someone as important to the team as Brody go down, you look across the board and the first glance was to him,” Tidd said. “From the very first snap, he took off back there. It just looks different.”
Now that the record chase has concluded, Goodman is ready for other challenges. “Time to move on,” he said. And he personified that mindset as the Stars moved on so quickly from the humbling loss to Floyd Central.
“We took it personal,” Goodman said. “We’re a better team than that. That happens, it’s football. Time to bounce back.”
BNL’s defense had something to do with that. In addition to the Jones picks and the Gates pick-up six, Chase Rynders recovered another fumble. The Warriors managed only four first downs and 86 total yards, and Salas did not return after the Sargent hit. That left Scottsburg with a freshman backup.
“Turnovers, turnovers,” Tidd said. “Get the ball out, work on getting the ball. That was one of the first times all year we’ve actually done that, I was glad to see that.”
BNL awards helmet stickers to decorate the headgear – seven for a win, double for a shutout. That was the goal. The Stars were allowing 29.7 points per game and gave up 55 to the Highlanders.
“We laid an egg last week,” said Jones, who was definitely happier about the goose egg on the scoreboard. “This game we came back strong. Our coaches were on our butts all week about it. And we get double stickers. That’s all that matters.”
BNL will learn its postseason fate when the IHSAA announces the sectional pairings on Sunday night. The Stars will celebrate Senior Night against Columbus East next week. The Olympians (4-4) thumped Jeffersonville 43-13 on Friday night.
Bedford NL 14 27 7 0 – 48
Scottsburg 0 0 0 0 – 0
First quarter
BNL – Malakai Goodman, 1 run (Aiden Dralle kick) 8:08; BNL – Goodman, 34 pass from Cutler Chastain (Dralle kick), 6:22
Second quarter
BNL – Goodman, 58 run (Dralle kick), 11:32; BNL – Cam Gates, 70 fumble return (Dralle kick), 8:49; BNL – Goodman, 3 run (kick failed), 4:50; BNL – Gates, 33 pass from Chastain (Dralle kick), 0:42
Third quarter
BNL – Jaden Gilbert, 45 pass from Chastain (Dralle kick), 7:16
Team statistics
BNL – First downs 7 (5 by run, 2 by pass); Rushing 22-246; Passing 9-18-1-171; Total yards 417; Fumbles 1 (lost 0); Penalties 5-32
Scottsburg – First downs 4 (3 by run, 1 by pass); Rushing 25-53; Passing 7-16-2-33; Total yards 86; Fumbles 4 (lost 2); Penalties 2-15
Individual statistics
Rushing – (BNL) Chastain 2-9, Goodman 13-228, Kurtz 2-6, Allender 1-3; (Sc) Salas 5-20, Hamilton 10-(-2), Waggoner 2-13, Conlen 3-9, Reed 2-(-3), Brooks 3-16
Passing – (BNL) Chastain 9-17-1-171, Allender 0-1-0-0; (Sc) Salas 4-8-1-25, Conlen 3-8-1-8
Receiving – (BNL) Gilbert 6-77, Gates 2-60, Goodman 1-34; (Sc) Hamilton 2-4, Reed 1-5, Toppe 2-19, Coulter 1-0, Shuler 1-5
