By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – A traditional ending and new beginning are about to converge, the four-dimension continuum of intersecting timelines that will briefly intertwine.
Bedford North Lawrence will officially bid farewell to an 18-man senior class during the annual, emotional celebration for the future graduates. Simultaneously, the Stars will start a series with a first-time opponent, welcoming Monrovia to the turf for the regular-season home finale on Friday night. To tweak the title of the MASH finale, still the most-watched episode in television history, it’s hello, farewell and amen.
Senior Night is always special, but this one will be memorable for multiple reasons. This class has been through the emotional gauntlet of success, disappointment, and rebirth. They’ve endured a complete coaching change, with all the adjustments that are integral to that shift. They have helped energize the excitement around the program to a new level.
First, hello. Monrovia (3-4) will be an interesting challenge for BNL (5-2) in the debut collision. The Bulldogs are young, feisty and dangerous, definitely not the sacrificial lambs for a walk-off, stress-free victory.
Second, farewell. BNL’s huge senior class includes multiple starters, the key statistical pieces for its powerful offense and key personnel on the defensive side, the captains who have steered the Stars through some turbulence. Their importance, quickly turning around a program that went 2-9 last season and didn’t get the new head coach in place until late spring, cannot be overstated.
“To come from a 2-9 season to this is kind of surreal,” senior linebacker Noah Strauser said. “Coming together has been great. We were all-in with the coaching and strategies.”
“We’ve had challenges over the years,” senior defensive back Jerett Gilbert said. “With a whole new system, putting it all together to make it work, I’m proud of everyone for doing that. We’ve dogged it out, and it’s a special thing.”
When Brayden Tidd was hired as BNL’s new coach on May 15, forecasting this kind of success was wildly optimistic. Yet the Stars can lock down a winning season, which is just a small step on the list of attainable goals, with a victory.
”One of my mentors told me the first one will always be the most special,” Tidd said of his first graduating class. “I definitely feel that way. Being the first group, with them trusting in me and my staff, buying into what we’re doing, it’s been special. It will be a tough class to lose.”
Finally, amen. So be it. Football is a great secondary classroom for valuable lessons. These seniors will, at some point, depart with a lifetime of those. There’s a common theme.
”You have to love each other in order to be successful,” Strauser said. “You have to give each other respect. Compete at the same time, but remember you’re teammates. That’s the way it’s supposed to be with family.”
“A lot of ups and downs,” Gilbert added. “Just come together and be a family.”
After all the pregame hugs and tears, there’s the issue of winning the contest. Monrovia will make that difficult, rather than an afterthought. The Bulldogs will feature a run-centric offense (similar in approach to Brownstown and Jennings County) with its misdirection and power. Their defense is young, with no returning starters from a year ago, with a freshman (Payton Hall) leading the team in tackles.
The rushing leaders include sophomore Ryder Bain (603 yards, 7 touchdowns), Coewen Stinson (422 yards, 3 TDs) and Gavin Wolsiffer (312, 2 TDs), a run-heavy offense when compared to the numbers from quarterback Clay Thacker (22 of 51, 321 yards) in seven games.
”We are indeed very young, but the kids are very coachable,” Monrovia coach Andy Olson said. “We’ve shown weaknesses at times, but we’ve also shown that when we play well, we can do great things. We are starting many freshmen and sophomores, but they are growing and improving each week to prepare for the sectional.“
Defense is a barometer. The Bulldogs own wins over Kokomo, Beach Grove and Speedway, and they’re undefeated when allowing two or fewer touchdowns. They’re 0-4 when giving up more than that. And that’s the unit BNL will test most.
The Stars have one of the more explosive offenses in Class 4A, averaging 36.9 points. Senior quarterback Dayson Kirby ranks second in the state (by one measly yard) in passing with 2,294, and he’s third in the state with 23 touchdowns. Take your pick of targets among Jaden Gilbert (33 for 556 yards and 5 TDs), Parker Kern (32 for 448 and 5), Malakai Goodman (23 for 466 and 2) and Cam Gates (22 for 413 and 4).
“Obviously, they have a high-powered passing attack, but hopefully some adjustments we make from last week’s Tri-West game (a 42-6 loss) will help us this week with BNL,” Olson said. “They are strong and aggressive on defense, which can cause problems at times, but we can also use that to our advantage.”
BNL’s defense has recorded an astounding 75 tackles for loss, led by Gibson Crane (19) and Brady Byers (16). Crane has 12 sacks and Jackson Jones has picked off four passes, but don’t expect that to be a factor. Monrovia wants to run the ball, control the clock, shorten the game.
”They will try to be more physical than us, and they have the guys to do that,” Tidd said. “They can control the field and the clock a lot, and that’s exactly what they want to do.”
“We want to keep things in front of us defensively,” Olson said. “Play tough and physical on both sides of the ball, execute on offense, especially with open receivers. Ball control and controlling the clock will be a huge factor in having success.”
BNL is in bounce-back mode following the loss to 5A No.10 Floyd Central in the league showdown last week.
“The most important thing, other than the obvious one of getting these seniors a win, is getting back on track,” Tidd said. “We had a disappointing showing in a big game, so if we can bounce back, that will be really important.”
MONROVIA at BNL
Kickoff: Friday, 7 p.m.
Records: Monrovia 3-4; BNL 5-2
Coaches: Andy Olson, 36-30 in sixth season at Monrovia; Brayden Tidd, 5-2 in first season at BNL
Sagarin ratings: Monrovia 54.65; BNL 65.26
Series: This is the first meeting between the teams.
Game notes: Monrovia won the Class 2A state championship in 2015 and finished as state runner-up in 2009. The IHSAA will conduct the drawings for the 2025 state tournament pairings on Sunday. BNL is seventh in Class 4A in scoring at 36.9 points per game.
