By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Grady Dalton couldn’t remember the biggest play of his Bedford North Lawrence career. Fortunately, there’s video evidence. Jennings County would like to forget the whole thing ever happened. Unfortunately for the Panthers, this was one for the history books.
Records are hard to break when the program has 50-plus years as a sample size. BNL came close to shattering the mark for points scored and margin of victory. In this era of mercy-rule conclusions and running clocks, that’s doubly difficult. But there was no reason to delay the inevitable or extend the misery as the Stars crushed an overmatched opponent.
Homecoming was celebrated in style as BNL blasted Jennings County 63-0 on Friday night. The outcome was decided before the queen donned her crown as the Stars (5-1 overall) exploded to a devastating 49-0 lead at the half, cruising to their fourth consecutive win while maintaining their lead in the Hoosier Hills Conference.
BNL scored in almost every conceivable way. Passing, rushing, defense and special teams. The school record for points and victory margin was a set during a 68-0 shelling of Mitchell in 1978. That was prior to the introduction of the mercy rule. Under the previous rules, the Stars would have obliterated that mark. But that would have been unnecessary. Point proven.
The Stars still had plenty to celebrate while conquering the Panthers (2-4) for the 10th straight time in the series. Dayson Kirby, the state leader in passing yards, dazzled again with 263 yards and four touchdowns, Brody Horton scored three times, and BNL forced three turnovers. BNL first-year coach Brayden Tidd had been waiting for a complete-game performance.
“I wanted them to finally take care of business,” Tidd said. “I didn’t feel like we had, until tonight, put together four quarters of good football. We’ve had a lot of good quarters, but not four straight together.”
BNL scored on every possession but one, allowed only one first down until the fourth quarter, and posted its first shutout since blanking Madison in 2023. So that probably qualifies.
The blowout didn’t take long. BNL’s first drive ended with Horton’s first score as he burrowed over from three yards. Next drive, Kirby connected with Jaden Gilbert for 27 yards, and Gilbert powered over from a yard out for a quick 14-0 lead.
The damage was just beginning. Kirby found Luke Morris for 39 yards, then did a double rollout (drifting right, then wheeling left away from pressure) while buying time to find Horton for a 2-yard TD pass and 21-0 advantage.
In the second quarter, Kirby hit Gilbert for 24 yards, then fired a 3-yard touchdown to Parker Kern. On the next series, he lofted a 51-yard touchdown to a wide-open Morris for a 35-0 advantage with 5:25 left in the half. Then came the coup de grace. Jennings quarterback Brady Franks coughed up a fumble, and Dalton snatched up the perfect bounce, turned and dashed 25 yards for a scoop-and-score.
“It just bounced right into me,” Dalton said. “I really didn’t know what was going on in the moment. It was crazy. I’ll have to watch it, because I don’t remember it that much. It felt awesome.”
BNL’s final score of the half was a dandy as Axsom fielded a punt and dashed 65 yards. The only drama was the flag that came flying in from the sideline as Axsom dashed past Morris while he was looking to obstruct a tackler. After a lengthy discussion among the officials, the flag was waved off and Axsom’s touchdown counted.
The Stars added two more scores while the clock ticked quickly away in the second half. Jackson Jones intercepted a pass over the middle and raced to the 1 yard line, setting up another Horton touchdown. BNL’s final touchdown was a 19-yarder from Kirby to Morris during the final play of the third quarter.
In addition to the Kirby stats, Morris (shifted to double duty at receiver when Cam Gates suffered an injury) caught 5 passes for 109 yards and two TDs, while Gilbert had four catches for 115 yards.
Not to be overlooked, BNL’s defense was tough, surrendering only 61 total yards. Morris also had a fumble recovery in the first half.
“We’re always trying to find the ball,” Tidd said. “Once we get a lot of hats to the football, then rip it out. Be in the right spots.”
“Dawgs, that’s all I can say. We were locked in all week,” Morris said.
“We always try to win the turnover battle,” Dalton said. “It helps you win the game. We focus on it. We play defense like our life depends on it.”
Franks had 53 yards rushing for Jennings. The Panthers threatened to score when their last drive consumed the entire fourth quarter, but the Stars slammed the door on fourth down at the 1 yard line. Franks also produced a statistical rarity, completing only one pass – to himself when Jones batted a pass back to him – for negative-12 yards.
Jennings has been a favorite BNL target over the years. The Stars scored 60 against Jennings in 2017 and 65 at the expense of the Panthers in 2005. Even with all that history, and with the next formidable foe on the immediate horizon, the Stars avoided the temptation of overlooking this opponent.
“I know Homecoming is exciting, but it’s physically impossible to get through to tomorrow night (the party) without playing the game,” Tidd said. “So take care of business first, then go dance.”
“It’s just huge,” Morris said. “We can keep it rolling.”
BNL now faces a road showdown with Floyd Central for the HHC lead. The Highlanders (5-1 and ranked No.10 in Class 5A) crunched Columbus East 56-28 while improving to 3-0 in the league.
Jennings Co. 0 0 0 0 -0
Bedford NL 21 28 14 – 63
First quarter
BNL – Brody Horton, 3 run (Parker Beeson kick), 10:24; BNL – Jaden Gilbert, 1 run (Beeson kick), 7:08; BNL – Horton, 2 pass from Dayson Kirby (Beeson kick), 1:13
Second quarter
BNL – Parker Kern, 3 pass from Kirby (Beeson kick), 10:00; BNL – Luke Morris, 51 pass from Kirby (Beeson kick), 5:25; BNL – Grady Dalton, 25 fumble return (Beeson kick), 4:23; BNL – Driven Axsom, 65 punt return (Beeson kick), 0:43
Third quarter
BNL – Horton, 1 run (Beeson kick), 8:41; BNL – Morris, 19 pass from Kirby (Beeson kick), 0:28
Team statistics
JC – First downs 6 (5 by run, 1 by penalty); Rushing 37-73; Passing 1-6-1-(-12); Total yards 61; Fumbles 3 (lost 2); Penalties 3-15
BNL – First downs 10 (3 by run, 7 by pass); Rushing 12-38; Passing 15-21-0-263; Total yards 301; Fumbles 0; Penalties 5-45
Individual statistics
Rushing – (JC) Franks 18-53, Patterson 3-0, McCory 7-5, Cole 7-16, Maschino 1-(-2), Hernandez 1-1; (BNL) Horton 5-28, Goodman 1-4, Ja. Gilbert 2-2, Je. Gilbert 2-4, Allender 2-0
Passing – (JC) Franks 1-6-1-(-12); (BNL) Kirby 15-21-0-263
Receiving – (JC) Franks 1-(-12); (BNL) Morris 5-109, Kern 2-8, Ja. Gilbert 4-115, Goodman 2-28, Horton 1-2, Je. Gilbert 1-1
