By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – What’s big, mean and green all over?
For Marvel junkies, the answer is obvious: the Incredible Hulk, of course. For old-school NFL experts, it’s former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive star Mean Joe Greene. How about the college mascot of North Texas? That’s the Mean Green. In the NBA, there’s Draymond Green, who’s 6-foot-6 with a bad temper.
Those are all good responses. But this week, as Bedford North Lawrence prepares to battle for the outright Hoosier Hills Conference lead, the correct reply is Floyd Central’s physical front lines, the collision point that will determine the outcome when the upstart Stars state their case for a championship.
BNL, the surprise story of southern Indiana, will seek its fifth straight victory, looking to clinch at least a share of the HHC title, when the Stars (5-1 overall) journey to Class 5A No.10 Floyd Central (also 5-1) in a classic showdown of two offensive powers. BNL has yet to earn any poll votes, so a win over the Highlanders would demand attention as the Stars face their toughest challenge of the season.
The Stars have vaulted to the HHC lead with wins over opponents that have gone a combined 4-20. This is a different level. Floyd (3-0 in the league) is coming off a 56-28 triumph over defending league champion Columbus East, its most impressive conquest to date. This is a late-season battle that’s been on the radar for several weeks, and if it matches classic confrontations between these programs in recent years, it promises to be memorable.
Two explosive offenses, two worthy champions. Only one crown.
The Highlanders, ranked 23rd in the state at 44.2 points per game, have multiple phases and veteran weapons. Senior quarterback Jack Mull, who burned BNL during last year’s clash, leads a dynamic attack with 1,171 passing yards and 18 touchdowns, the perfect balance to running back Sebastian Robertson (1,039 yards, 15 TDs). The big reason for all that success? Floyd’s massive front line. The spotlight usually finds the skill positions, while the guys up front work in the shadows.
”Those guys up front are not only big, they move guys,” BNL coach Brayden Tidd said. “That’s a really big challenge for us. They have some dudes that like to throw you out of the way.”
Floyd’s line features four two-year starters, four tipping the scales at 250 pounds. Remember the old Wendy’s commercial? There’s the beef.
“We’re a very veteran team in the trenches, which has led to our success,” FC coach James Bragg said. “We have a lot of juniors that have played for two years, they have a lot of experience under their belts. That’s huge for us.”
Last week at East, the Highlanders dashed the Olympians for 300 rushing yards and 500 yards of total offense. Mull was 16 for 25 for 198 yards, while Robertson blasted for 190 on the ground. Jaxon Stone scored three times. BNL’s defense is coming off its best three-game streak (16 points allowed during that span) since 2011, and the Stars are allowing only 14.5 points per game. This will be a true test of physicality.
“We can’t take anything for granted,” Bragg said. “We had a great win last week, but we have to move on. We have to be focused this week.”
BNL will present plenty of potential headaches for the Highlanders. Dayson Kirby is second in the state in passing yards (1,993) and third in touchdowns (20), and he can pick from a quiver full of sharp receivers with Jaden Gilbert (28 for 486, 4 TDs), Parker Kern (26 for 353, 4 TDs) and Malakai Goodman (20 for 443 yards) among the potential targets.
“The quarterback looks 10 times better than he did last year,” Bragg said. “He’s much more poised in the pocket and he has confidence. And the receivers have really improved. Their double moves are amazing, they don’t tip anything off.
“But once again, their line is much more sound, more disciplined. Their pass blocking is superb. So this will be one of the better lines we see all year, and it will be interesting to see how our defensive line stacks up. I believe this game has a lot of electric power on both sides at the skill positions, but whoever wins the lines up front will win this game.”
Floyd dominated last year’s collision, posting a 48-20 win as Mull threw four touchdown passes and Robertson rumbled for 110 yards. The Stars were guilty of five turnovers while losing for the fifth time in the last six meetings.
But a couple of those have been instant classics. Two years ago during BNL’s last visit to Weigleb Stadium, the conference title hung in the balance as the Stars went for a two-point conversion with 47 seconds left and came up short, suffering a stinging 28-27 defeat. In 2022, Billy Cline drilled a 31-yard field goal with 6 seconds left to give BNL a thrilling 13-10 triumph. Bragg hasn’t forgotten about that one.
“It’s setting up the same way, where we thought we were on top of the world, and Bedford outplayed us that night,” he said. “I don’t want to see that happen again. This is the rivalry. Everyone wants to talk about New Albany and Jeffersonville, and I get that because it’s local. But when you look at the records, we’ve gone back and forth. This is the one I enjoy playing, because Bedford has hard-nosed kids. This is the one I enjoy every year.”
The intangible factors are Floyd’s experience and BNL’s sky-high confidence after winning four straight games to set up this title tilt.
“Any kind of experience is huge,” Tidd said. “It’s the same reason it’s helped us. You’re seeing the fruits of that now, because they’re dominating teams. Our confidence is through the roof. I feel like, getting on a roll lately, that is really good for these guys. They’ve shown themselves they can do it every week, if we do our jobs.
“We don’t want to be too high, because this is a very good football team. It’s the best team we’ve faced to date. You have to expect to be in a dogfight. It’s inevitable, whether we want to be in one or not. We have to be ready. This is a very different animal.”
Floyd’s only loss (48-28 at Whiteland in Week 2) was marked by four first-half turnovers. BNL will have to survive the emotional pitfalls and dodge early punches.
“It’s important in big games to start fast,” Tidd said. “That’s a tough place to play. We have to be ready to fight all four quarters, because they are definitely a four-quarter team. This is the perfect time for us. They’ve built confidence in themselves, they know they can win ballgames. We’ve started to put four quarters together.”
BNL’s last HHC title came in 2022, a shared championship with Seymour. The Stars have not won the outright crown since 1995.
BNL at FLOYD CENTRAL
Kickoff: Friday, 7 p.m.
Records: BNL 5-1 (4-0 in HHC); Floyd Central 5-1 (3-0 in HHC), ranked No.10 in Class 5A
Coaches: Brayden Tidd, 5-1 in first year at BNL; James Bragg, 48-30 in 8th year at Floyd Central
Sagarin ratings: BNL 68.96; Floyd Central 70.59
Series: Floyd Central leads 32-24
Last meeting: Last year at BNL, the Highlanders thumped the Stars 48-20. Jack Mull threw four touchdown passes and the Stars were guilty of five turnovers. Dayson Kirby had two touchdown passes for BNL.
Previous game story: Mull Man delivers for FC
Game notes: BNL is chasing its eighth Hoosier Hills Conference title in program history. Floyd Central has won five HHC titles, the last in 2023. The Highlanders have won five of the last six games in the series. Floyd Central ranks 23rd in the state in scoring at 44.2 points per game.
