By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – For a nervous freshman, worried about surviving one day at a time and avoiding all the potential social pitfalls of such an awkward age, the scariest sight in the world – other than a parent about to publicly embarrass them – might be the approach of an arrogant senior, with all that swagger and confidence.
Just get out of the way and go unnoticed. That’s especially true on the football field. Don’t get trampled, that’s the goal. Social bruises are one thing, physical pain is another. That three-year age difference means everything in terms of muscle mass and punishment.
Then something amazing happens. Three years disappear in a heart beat. The roles reverse. What seemed like forever ago has blasted away like a rocket exploding into orbit from Cape Canaveral, leaving a colorful contrail. That’s a senior’s time span – on the launching pad of life, then gone with a roar and a cloud of smoke.
For the 14 seniors on the Bedford North Lawrence roster, their careers are about to shift into the final stage. The Stars will celebrate Senior Night, with all the smiles, tears and emotional cargo of the parent walk and introductions, with all the disruptive controlled chaos of the festivities, when they host Columbus East in the regular-season finale on Friday night.
BNL’s senior class – Malakai Goodman, Brody Horton, Grady Dalton, Parker Kern, Cayden Secreto, Cutler Chastain, Chase Rynders, Jackson Jones, Cam Gates, Jaden Gilbert, Dyllon Smith, Carter Sollman, Case Stiles and Cameron Morales – have gone through the gauntlet of change. They endured the suffering of setbacks (2-9 as sophomores) and the unknown of coaching change. They grew up in a hurry.
“As a freshman, you look at the seniors, and you’re like ‘Dang, those are some scary kids,’” Stiles said. “Now as a senior, you wonder if kids think that of me. That’s how time flies, from being a little guy to someone who people think is scary.
“We’ve all learned something similar, to keep your head up, keep moving. Our sophomore year, we went 2-9 and beat the same team twice. But we were all focused on football, came back with a new coaching staff, and started winning. Stay locked in to what you love.”
Some of them, unfortunately, have already played their final game. Injuries demanded premature payment from Kern (foot), Horton (knee) and Dalton (shoulder). But they never wavered in their love of the game. Their classmates have drawn inspiration from that.
“They’re all competitors,” BNL coach Brayden Tidd said. “They’re really close, but they’re competitors. I know I didn’t have to worry about this group, because they’re gamers.
“Their commitment was buying in to everything we wanted to do. It’s not easy when there’s a whole new staff and they don’t know anybody. Buying into that, believing when we told them we expected to win every single game, that’s really impressive.”
That’s been the common denominator for such a diverse collection. Their personalities differ, their drive does not.
“It’s how committed we are to football, how much we love the game,” Smith said. “We’ve all played together since the seventh grade. It shows how committed we’ve been for four years. It shows you to stay committed and stay locked in to the program.“
East (4-4) could play the perfect spoiler. The Olympians have the offense (30.1 points per game) and passing attack to ruin the BNL farewell.
Junior quarterback Kameron Combest has thrown for 1,370 yards and 12 touchdowns, and he’s coming off his best performance of the season, completing 21 of 25 for 326 yards and three TDs during a 43-13 win over Jeffersonville. He has a dangerous quartet of receivers who all have 24 or more catches, led by junior Jackson Miller (32 for 451 yards and three scores). Miller caught seven for 126 yards against the Red Devils.
”They have four receivers, they spread the ball really well,” Tidd said. “They’re really good up front, their strongest suit is up front on both sides of the ball. They do a lot of good things to allow that quarterback to sit back there and pick people apart. They present a lot of problems.”
Turnovers will be the key. Combest has thrown eight of his nine interceptions during East’s four losses. Last year, East picked off four passes and Kyson Villarreal scored three times while conquering the Stars 20-17, as BNL’s lack of emotional fire and flat-footed penalties (11 total) were obvious.
This time, finding the passion and emotional energy for the finale will not be difficult.
“Part of it is knowing we might not play here again, so make sure your last one is your best one,” Tidd said. “It’s hard with all the emotions. But it makes it that much more special, and it should make you play harder for the guys next to you.”
“I might cry a little, I’m not going to lie,” Stiles said. “But I’m excited. Senior Night is one you definitely want to win.”
The seniors play a huge role on the turf. Goodman ranks third in the state in rushing with a single-season school record of 1,536 yards (plus 23 total touchdowns), Gilbert has 26 catches for 418 yards (as he approaches the school record for career receiving yards), Gates has snagged 18 for 400 yards, Chastain has thrown for 888 yards and nine TDs, and Jones has three interceptions after pocketing two last week. Gates also leads the team in total tackles while Stiles is the sack leader.
BNL will also have a 15th senior in spirit. The banner for Kingston Lanham hangs outside the stadium with his former teammates. Lanham passed away following his battle with Ewing sarcoma, a pediatric cancer, just 18 months ago.
“That’s what we’re mainly playing for, remembering him and playing for him,” Smith said. “He would love to be here. He loved football just as much as we all do. So him not being here stings, but we’re going to play for him.”
COLUMBUS EAST at BNL
Kickoff: Friday, 7 p.m.
Records: Columbus East 4-4 (3-1 in HHC); BNL 6-2 (3-1 in HHC)
Coaches: Tyler Campbell, 4-4 in first year at East (23-21 in fifth year overall); Brayden Tidd, 14-6 in second year at BNL
Sagarin ratings: Columbus East 60.47; BNL 55.75
Series: Columbus East leads 42-13
Last meeting: Last year at East, Kyson Villarreal scored three touchdowns as the Olympians prevailed 20-17. BNL was guilty of four turnovers and 11 penalties.
Previous game story: No way home for Stars
Game notes: The winner would share the Hoosier Hills Conference title if New Albany upsets Class 5A No.6 Floyd Central. Tyler Campbell is only the fourth coach in East history, following John Stafford (1975-2000), Bob Gaddis (2001-2020) and Eddie Vogel (2021-2025). BNL ranks eighth in Class 4A in offense, averaging 39.4 points per game.
