King-Steinfeldt connection pays off in comeback win for Bloomington North over BNL

Whenever Bloomington North's football team is in the red zone, Dash King has big No. 4 on his radar.

Aidan Steinfeldt, the Marshall-bound tight end was the target of two touchdown passes in the final eight minutes, including the last with just 18 seconds left, that rescued the Cougars in a 21-14 win over eventually outmanned Bedford North Lawrence on an Amazon jungle type of Friday night at Dennis O. Martin Field.

"He's been throwing from shortstop to first base since we were 10 years old," Steinfeldt said. "Same thing, throwing touchdowns on Friday night. It's the chemistry we've had, built over the years."

Even without a baseball glove on, Steinfeldt's big mitts confidently swallowed up both tosses high above the crowd. The second score was huge as the Cougars still trailed 14-13 when the extra-point kick by backup placekicker Graham Freund (North's punter filling in for Noah Nelson), bounced off the crossbar.

"We got a big target in Aidan," King said. "Big strong frame that we definitely use to our advantage. We've got other playmakers, but whenever it comes down to the red zone, most guys can't handle that competition down there."

Sweating it out

North (2-0) kept throwing body after body on the field and everyone contributed to the victory. A few stood out in key moments.

• Steinfeldt caught six passes for 48 yards and those two scores of seven and eight yards.

• King, who started the night 7-of-8 passing, had a rough patch with an interception right before halftime, then went 8-of-10 down the stretch to total 150 yards. He also ran in North's first TD and picked up the first down with a two-yard gain on fourth-and-1 to the 8 setting up the winning score.

• Camden Eaton picked off two passes in the first half and fell on a fumble in a turnover-filled third-quarter stalemate. Luke Freel ended the game with an interception as the defense came up with five turnovers.

• Kijuan Hayes, who went from goat to hero. Losing a fumble on his first carry of the game right after Eaton's first interception, stopped the Cougars from jumping up 14-0 just five minutes in. Instead, BNL marched 79 yards to tie it. After the Cougars rotated Brayden Johnson, Trey Scott, Noah Ferree into the backfield, Hayes returned with a vengeance, spearheading the ground game on both late scoring drives to pile up 77 of his 103 rushing yards against the tiring Stars.

"That was a great team win for us," North coach Scott Bless said. "We talk about football being the ultimate team sport because it requires more from more people. We had a whole lot of bodies on the field tonight and that really was the difference maker for us.

"We've got some guys who have stepped up and assumed some roles and allow us to stay fresh at the end of a game. Those guys (BNL) played their rear ends off. We were just able to be a little fresher at the end."

And that wasn't just because North downed enough fluids all week.

"It's the hard work they've put in since November," Bless said. "Not just in preseason. These kids have made a tremendous commitment. And a whole lot of guys decided they wanted to be Friday night guys."

Stars shined early

Like last week, the Stars (2-0) had control of the game for the first three quarters before succumbing.

"We just didn't have enough gas to hold on in the fourth quarter," Barker said. "But there's a lot of good things to build off of. It doesn't mean anything. It still hurts. There's no moral victory. But I felt like we played really well in the first half."

BNL's ground game couldn't be stopped early as 200-pound quarterback Memphis Louden rumbled for 101 yards and running back Piaire Childs had 50 by the break to build a 14-7 lead.

But on the Stars' first possession of the second half, Louden went wide on a keeper and seemed to trip on his own. He was cramping. He got back on his feet, but he was done for the night, forcing Childs to play QB for a few series before sophomore Dayson Kirby finished up.

"It was huge," BNL coach Derrick Barker said. "I thought he was the best player on the field. And obviously, when you lose that, it hurts. He had a lot of cramps, full-body cramps.

"But I thought we did a good job in the third quarter, kind of surviving through it and then it came down to one or two plays."

Neither QB could gain any traction, especially after a couple more BNL linemen also suffered from the heat and humidity and starting running back Cal Gates was also absent after halftime with a back injury. BNL still gained 214 rushing yards, but just 41 after the break, and the passing game just couldn't connect.

"Them losing (Loudon) was a big factor, because he is a great football player and really keeps you off-balance with his ability to throw and run," Bless said. "But we went back to attacking up front."

Resilience key for Cougars

In the end, North had to overcome four turnovers and a rash of ill-timed penalties that totaled 60 yards.

"We just in the fourth quarter just found another gear for ourselves," Steinfeldt said. "We just ran the ball. Kijuan came back, ran the ball down their throats, threw a couple over the top. It was a great team effort. Defense really stepped up for us. Proud of that."

The last two drives covered 70 and 67 yards as the Cougars pulled something out of themselves in a tough spot.

"Something I don't think I've seen before," King said. "Something that needed to be channeled, honestly. Going into halftime down, down but not out, it's just one score. You've got to be able to win those games."

BLOOMINGTON NORTH 21, BEDFORD NORTH LAWRENCE 14

Bedford North Lawrence (0-2) 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 — 14

Bloomington North (2-0) 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 — 21

FIRST QUARTER

BN: Dash King 3 run (Graham Freund kick), 9:00. BN, 7-0.

BNL: Memphis Louden 18 run (Ryker Hughes kick), Tied, 7-7, 3:29.

SECOND QUARTER

BNL: Piaire Childs 11 run (Hughes kick), 7:21. BNL, 14-7.

FOURTH QUARTER

BN: Aidan Steinfeldt 7 pass from King (kick failed), 7:47. BNL, 14-13.

BN: Steinfeldt 8 pass from King (Jack Leonard pass from King), :18.4. BN, 21-14.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING

BNL (46-214): Memphis Louden 14-101, Paiire Childs 17-76, Cal Gates 8-22, Trace Rynders 2-21, Zach Brosamie 3-2, Dayson Kirby 2-(-8).

Bloomington North (34-130): Kijuan Hayes 17-103, Brayden Johnson 4-11, Noah Ferree 4-9, Jorian Brooks 1-7, Dash King 6-4, Trey Scott 2-(-4).

PASSING

BNL (3-12-3-31): Louden 1-7-2-4, Kirby 2-5-1-27.

Bloomington North (17-28-1-150): King 17-28-1-150.

RECEIVING

BNL: Ryker Hughes 2-27, Gabe Nelson 1-4.

Bloomington North: Aidan Steinfieldt 6-48, Tate Bless 5-51, Cole Grupenhoff 4-24, Brooks 1-13.

Contact Jim Gordillo at jgordillo@heraldt.com and follow on X (Twitter) @JimGordillo.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Fourth-quarter rally finishes off Bloomington North-BNL battle