By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – For every team, save for the six that hoist the state championship trophy awarded in each Indiana classification, the end of the season is the most heartbreaking moment, especially for the seniors whose careers end in tears. That was especially true for Bedford North Lawrence, for its final October accounting was not a true representation of the August promise.
Decimated by tough injuries to key personnel, cobbled together by baling twine, spit and grit, the Stars were haunted by the famous Whittier poem line: “For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: It might have been.”
Playing the “what if” game is always a losing concept. There’s no real answer. It’s like Mr. Owl determining how many licks are required to reach the center of a Tootsie Roll sucker. The world may never know. How good was Bedford North Lawrence? The football world will never know. The final record shows 7-4, certainly noteworthy and commendable, but the Stars were never at full strength and kept shedding starters as the year progressed.
They finally ran out of answers to the challenges during the sectional semifinal loss to Evansville Harrison. They will always wonder what Fate awaited if injuries had not cut short the seasons of seniors Parker Kern, Grady Dalton, Brody Horton and Cam Gates, plus junior Ben Gratzer and finally freshman Cash Kurtz. Of course, “If ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ were candy and nuts, we’d all have a Merry Christmas” is also true.
”We’ve said all year, if we could title this season, it would be ‘What If,’” BNL coach Brayden Tidd said. “It’s so frustrating. Obviously the players could not help it. But just seeing how hard they worked, how high the expectations were, we thought we would be flying high after coming off last year.
“Losing almost all the production offensively, with guys going down and others moving positions, a lot of guys going both ways, it was frustrating all around.”
The amazing part was how well BNL adjusted to all the adversity. Every mishap created opportunity for another. The coaching staff plugged more holes than a dentist after a sugar convention.
“I wanted to thank them for how well they adapted to everything,” Tidd said. “There were a lot of challenges. All the position coaches did a nice job of getting them ready to go. That’s why you hire guys, to do their jobs and do them well. I was very pleased.”
The story of the season happened because of one emergency adjustment. When Horton went down with a knee injury midgame in Week 2, BNL needed a running back and moved senior Malakai Goodman from the slot to the backfield. All he did was set a school record with 2,075 rushing yards while scoring 26 touchdowns.
“You get a kid who works his tail off, who’s faster than everyone else, stronger than everyone else, it was a recipe for success,” Tidd said. “Props to Mal for stepping in on a whim. I don’t think any of us would have dreamed about 2,000 yards in 9 1/2 games, that’s crazy.
“We believed he was running with a really good offensive line, which had improved from last year. We expected to run the ball a little more, but I never would have imagined that we would flip our percentages. That’s what you have to do when you’re dealt the cards we were dealt. You have to adapt and put them in good spots to win ballgames.“
BNL’s offense, so passing centric in 2025, became a ground operation. The Stars set a program record by scoring 40-plus points in five straight games, exploded for a record 74 points in the sectional win over Evansville Central, and averaged a record 40.2 points overall.
Jaden Gilbert finished as the career leader in receptions and receiving yards, and quarterback Cutler Chastain threw for 1,380 yards and 15 TDs.
All those video-game numbers came from seniors, a 14-member class. The graduation hit will be hard, particularly in the offensive backfield, the offensive line (with three from the left side) and the defensive secondary (anchored by Jackson Jones, the team leader in tackles and interceptions).
“They were a massive piece of what we wanted to do,” Tidd said. “When you lose that much production, your mind goes into panic mode for a second. I’m super proud of those guys. They bought all-in from Day One, and they will be some tough guys to replace. I think they will feel like they were part of the group that got this thing going in the right direction.”
That’s now the past. What about the future? BNL will be a totally new team in 2027, but there were foundational blocks with linebacker Cale Prince, with defensive linemen Holton Nicholson, Drake Sargent and Hudson Kern, with offensive lineman RIley Sons and Cooper Knoy, with returning veterans Gratzer, Beau Allender and Grayson Gillespie, with Kurtz and Macrae King. BNL must find offensive stars and solidify a defense that allowed 28.9 points per game.
”You have to look at the defensive side,” Tidd said. “We will see who wants to work hard in the offseason. On the line, that’s a place you want to fill in early. There will be a lot of competition in our future. We will figure out who wants to be here and who wants to play. It will be cut-throat, because we’re losing a lot of guys.”
BNL’s road ahead will not get smoother. In addition to the competition from the Evansville area in the Class 4A sectional, Bloomington South will be joining the Hoosier Hills Conference. The Stars have won 15 games in Tidd’s first two years.
“Obviously I would like to win a sectional, would love to win the conference,” Tidd said. “And those will always be the goals. If you’re not looking at those two things, I don’t know why we’re here. I think we will keep getting better, I see us still climbing and going in a good direction.”
