By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Every great team has a heartbeat, the leader who defines the identity and pumps life into the success on the field. For Floyd Central, unbeaten as it chases another Hoosier Hills Conference championship, that pulse is easily detected, even with a heart of Stone.
Senior weapon Jaxon Stone, the poster boy for two-way star, is the powerful, non-stop muscle for the Highlanders. Already a dynamic All-State safety in the defensive secondary, he has stepped into a backfield void to become indispensable as Floyd heads into a titanic showdown with Bedford North Lawrence for the undisputed top spot in the conference race.
If Floyd coach James Bragg had a better option for his starting quarterback, he’d certainly take it. But once Stone took over, he’s been a dual-threat dynamo. All he’s done is throw for 711 yards and seven touchdowns, run for 436 yards and eight TDs, and direct an offense that averages 40.3 points per game.
“We were hoping to find someone to play quarterback, and not have Stone do it the whole time,” Bragg said. “But the way he’s been playing, he’s our guy. It’s kind of a risk, to take your best receiver (last season) and All-State safety, to go play quarterback and be the leader on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. He’s done a fabulous job.”
So have the Highlanders, now 6-0 and ranked No.5 in Class 5A. That unblemished record includes a 3-0 mark in the league. BNL (5-1 overall with four straight victories) has matched Floyd in the conference, setting up a clash for the frontrunner position. The Stars are in rare air, having won only a piece of two titles since 1995.
“It’s a really good team coming in, the HHC championship on the line,” BNL coach Brayden Tidd said. “It’s a team we know that’s fundamentally sound and will give us their best shot. They’re good in about every phase of the game, with athletes all over the field. Stone is really good. They have a lot to go with him, but they’ve taken their best athlete and put the game on his shoulders. He’s good enough to handle that. He’s a special player and we have to be ready to stop him.”
In addition to Stone, Floyd will feature running back Luke Jacobi (768 yards and 11 TDS) and dangerous speed receiver Donovan Taylor (18 catches, 324 yards) behind a veteran offensive line. But BNL can score as well, with the Stars averaging 41 points per game while eclipsing 40 in five straight games. The difference, on paper, is defense. Floyd, anchored by linebacker Blake Wisman and nose tackle Bobby Garvis, ranks 21st in the state while allowing only 9.8 points.
“We’re flying around and having fun on defense,” Bragg said. “There’s been years we struggled on defense, it was more smoke and mirrors, but we feel confident in what we’re doing. By far, we like to make teams not run the ball.“
That will be the battle line, because BNL has discovered one of the state’s best running backs. Since moving over to replace injured starter Brody Horton, all Malakai Goodman has done is explode for 1,267 yards (third in the state, despite six quarters off) and 17 touchdowns (third in the state). Last week at Jennings County, he erupted for 266 yards and five touchdowns – in the first half.
“You have to bottle him up,” Bragg said. “He’s a cheat code back there. He will run right, then go out the back door to the left. He has good instincts, great vision. He just goes wherever he wants to go. We have to build a wall and let our linebackers clean it up.”
If the Stars elect to throw, they have firepower with quarterback Cutler Chastain, plus receiver Cam Gates (14 catches for 279 yards) and Jaden Gilbert (12 for 247).
“Their line is the best we’ve faced to date,” Tidd said. “They disrupt the run game, and they have Stone sitting in the middle of the field. He makes people think twice about throwing in the middle when he’s there.”
Maybe think three times, because that’s how many passes Stone picked off last year against BNL. Floyd won that clash 41-22, with Jack Mull throwing touchdown passes of 90 and 88 yards (the latter to Stone), with Taylor returning a kickoff 90 yards for another touchdown. Even with all those issues, BNL battled within 27-22 in the third quarter before the Highlanders pulled away. Sebastian Robertson ran for 173 yards for Floyd, while Dayson Kirby threw for 310 yards and three TDs for the Stars.
“We have to stop turning the ball over, we have to come out fast,” Tidd said. “We can’t come out slow in the second half, we can’t have that against teams like this. We have to execute. We’ve had some miscues in the offense that we have to clean up, and we have to get off the field on defense on third down.”
FLOYD CENTRAL at BNL
Kickoff: Friday, 7 p.m.
Records: Floyd Central 6-0, ranked No.5 in Class 5A (3-0 in HHC); BNL 5-1 (3-0 in HHC)
Coaches: James Bragg, 59-31 in ninth season at Floyd Central; Brayden Tidd, 13-5 in second season at BNL
Sagarin ratings: Floyd Central 77.30; BNL 53.62
Series: Floyd Central leads 33-24
Last meeting: Last year at Floyd, the Highlanders broke big plays to conquer the Stars 41-22. Jack Mull threw two touchdown passes (of 90 and 88 yards) and Donovan Taylor returned a kickoff 90 yards for a score. Dayson Kirby threw for 310 yards and three TDs for BNL.
Previous game story: Floyd yanks away BNL’s title dreams
Game notes: Floyd Central has won three straight in the series and six of the last seven meetings. BNL ranks 42nd in the state in scoring at 41.0 points per game. Floyd ranks 21st in defense, allowing only 9.8 points.
