PROGRAM BREAKDOWN: BEDFORD NORTH LAWRENCE STARS FOOTBALL

ENOUGH WAITING: IS BRAYDEN TIDD BUILDING THE NEXT GREAT ERA OF BNL FOOTBALL?

By Uncle Judd | Hoosier Gridiron Critic

Let's quit dancing around it.

Bedford North Lawrence football has been waiting long enough.

Waiting for the next breakthrough.

Waiting for the next great team.

Waiting for November to mean more than just another playoff game.

Waiting for somebody to take the Stars from “pretty good” to “now we're talking about championships.”

And now there's a young coach standing on the BNL sideline who has given this program something it desperately needed:

Belief.

His name is Brayden Tidd.

And Uncle Judd is going to say something that some folks may think is premature:

Tidd is starting to look like the next Bret Szabo.

Not because he's already accomplished what Szabo did.

He hasn't.

Not because he's already won championships.

He hasn't.

But because Tidd is beginning to change the expectations surrounding BNL football.

And that's where championship programs begin.

BNL HAS A HISTORY — BUT NOT ENOUGH HARDWARE

Let's be honest about Bedford North Lawrence.

This isn't some brand-new football program trying to figure out what a football field looks like.

BNL has tradition.

BNL has produced players.

BNL has had talented teams.

BNL has had coaches who poured everything they had into the program.

But when you look at the football trophy case, there's one glaring problem:

There hasn't been enough championship hardware.

BNL has one football sectional championship, coming in 2011.

One.

That's a long time for a program with the size, tradition and football community that Bedford North Lawrence possesses.

And that's exactly why the Tidd era is worth watching.

Because the goal shouldn't be to celebrate going 7-3.

The goal shouldn't be to brag about making the playoffs.

The goal shouldn't be to say:

“Hey, at least we had a winning season.”

That's settling.

And Uncle Judd doesn't believe BNL should be settling anymore.

BRET SZABO PROVED IT COULD BE DONE

If you want to understand why the Tidd comparison matters, you have to understand what Bret Szabo represented at BNL.

Szabo didn't just coach football.

He helped establish a standard.

His teams competed.

They won.

They went deep into the postseason.

And, importantly, Szabo led BNL to a Hoosier Hills Conference championship, giving the Stars another significant piece of hardware during his tenure.

Then came the breakthrough everyone remembers.

2011.

BNL captured its sectional championship, giving the Stars their first football sectional title.

That matters.

Because winning a conference championship shows you can build a team capable of consistently competing.

Winning a sectional championship shows you can take that success into November and finish.

Szabo accomplished both.

He showed Bedford that BNL football could be more than simply competitive.

It could be a championship program.

And now, more than a decade later, Brayden Tidd has an opportunity to build on that legacy.

THAT'S WHY THE SZABO COMPARISON MATTERS

This isn't Uncle Judd saying:

“Hey, Tidd won some games, so let's call him Szabo.”

No.

That's not how this works.

Szabo earned his place in BNL history.

He helped deliver a Hoosier Hills Conference championship.

He helped deliver a sectional championship.

He established a standard for what BNL football could accomplish.

Now look at what Tidd has done.

2-9 in 2024.

Then:

8-4 in 2025.

Then a trip to the sectional championship game in his first season.

That's a turnaround.

That's a program moving in the right direction.

THE 2-9 SEASON HAD TO CHANGE

When Tidd took over, BNL wasn't sitting on top of the football world.

The Stars had gone 2-9 in 2024.

Two wins.

Nine losses.

That's not a rebuild that needs a little polish.

That's a program that needs somebody to change the direction.

And Tidd didn't spend a year making excuses.

He went to work.

One year later:

8-4.

Read that again.

2-9 → 8-4.

And BNL wasn't simply collecting wins.

The Stars reached the Sectional 23 championship game.

They were one win away from putting another sectional championship trophy into the BNL history books.

They ultimately came up short.

But here's what matters:

They were there.

That's the first step.

You have to get into the fight before you can win the fight.

And Tidd got BNL back into that fight in his first season.

THEN TIDD DID SOMETHING IMPORTANT

He didn't look at 2025 and say:

“Well, we went 8-4. Let's do that again.”

No.

He started changing the identity.

That's what catches Uncle Judd's attention.

BNL lost quarterback Dayson Kirby, who was a massive part of the offense.

A lesser program might have panicked.

Tidd didn't.

He handed the offense to Cutler Chastain and began building something different.

And Week 1 gave us one hell of a first look.

Chastain: 285 total yards.

244 team rushing yards.

Brody Horton: 100 rushing yards.

Chastain: 119 rushing yards.

Two rushing touchdowns for Chastain.

Two rushing touchdowns for Horton.

And BNL walked out of Martinsville with a 33-27 victory.

That's not simply replacing a quarterback.

That's changing the way you play football.

THIS ISN'T KIRBY'S TEAM ANYMORE

And that's not disrespect to Dayson Kirby.

Kirby was tremendous.

But here's the mistake people make when a successful quarterback graduates:

They spend the entire next season asking:

“Can the new quarterback be as good as him?”

Wrong question.

The better question is:

“Can the new team be better than the old team?”

That's what Tidd has to build.

And so far, he's not asking Chastain to become Kirby.

He's asking Chastain to become Chastain.

Run the football.

Make the throws when they're there.

Use your legs.

Trust your teammates.

And when the game is on the line?

Go win it.

That's exactly what happened against Martinsville.

BNL faced a fourth-and-5 late in the game.

Tidd could have played it safe.

He didn't.

He trusted his quarterback.

He trusted his offense.

And BNL moved the chains.

That's a program decision.

BNL IS BUILDING AN IDENTITY

This is where the 2026 team gets interesting.

The Stars aren't simply trying to throw the football all over the field.

They've shown they're willing to get physical.

They're willing to run.

They're willing to let Chastain use his legs.

They're willing to put the game in the hands of their offensive line and running backs.

And that's exactly what a program needs when it wants to survive November.

Because when the weather gets cold and the games get tight, you better be able to run the football.

You better be able to stop somebody.

And you better be willing to line up and win a fourth-and-short when everybody in the stadium knows what's coming.

That's football.

And Uncle Judd likes it.

NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT THE SECTIONAL

Here's where this story gets really interesting.

BNL has another opportunity in front of it.

The postseason path gives the Stars a legitimate chance to chase another sectional championship.

Does that mean it's guaranteed?

Hell no.

This is football.

Anything can happen.

But it does mean the Stars have an opportunity.

And if you're Tidd, that's exactly what you want.

You don't need to worry about history.

You don't need to worry about what happened five years ago.

You don't need to worry about who thinks BNL isn't supposed to be there.

You just need to win.

Win the sectional.

That's the first mountain.

And Uncle Judd believes BNL should be aiming directly at it.

COULD TIDD BE THE NEXT SZABO?

Now we're getting to the fun part.

Could Brayden Tidd become the next Bret Szabo?

Absolutely.

But don't confuse a comparison with a coronation.

Szabo earned his place in BNL history.

Tidd is still writing his chapter.

What makes the comparison interesting is the trajectory.

Szabo helped establish BNL as a serious football program.

Tidd took a 2-9 team and turned it into an 8-4 team in one season.

Szabo helped bring BNL a Hoosier Hills Conference championship.

Szabo also helped deliver the program's lone football sectional championship in 2011.

Tidd reached the sectional championship game in Year 1.

And now Tidd has another year of experience, another year of development and a team that appears to have a very different offensive identity.

That's not proof of a championship.

But it sure as hell is a reason to pay attention.

AND HERE'S WHERE UNCLE JUDD GOES ALL IN

I'm going to say something that might make some people uncomfortable.

BNL should not be satisfied with another 8-4 season.

There.

I said it.

If you're building a program, you don't build toward being satisfied with getting close.

You build toward finishing.

BNL got close in 2025.

They lost the sectional championship.

Fine.

Learn from it.

Remember it.

Use it.

But don't make it the high-water mark.

The next step is winning the damn thing.

AND YES — I'M GOING TO SAY STATE

Now before somebody says Uncle Judd has completely lost his mind, hear me out.

I'm not predicting a state championship.

I'm saying BNL should eventually believe that a state championship is possible.

Because what's the alternative?

Build a program just to win a sectional?

That's not how championship cultures are created.

The sectional is the first target.

Then you go deeper.

Then deeper.

And eventually, you find yourself playing football in November with something much bigger at stake.

That's how it happens.

Nobody wakes up one August morning and magically becomes a state champion.

You build the foundation first.

And Tidd may be building that foundation right now.

THE REAL TEST IS COMING

Week 1 was impressive.

But Uncle Judd isn't handing out lifetime achievement awards in August.

Now comes the hard part.

Teams are going to adjust.

Defenses are going to study Chastain.

They're going to load the box against Horton.

They're going to find out whether BNL can consistently throw the football.

And BNL's defense has to continue improving.

That's where we find out what this program really is.

Anybody can have a great Friday night.

Championship programs string great Friday nights together.

UNCLE JUDD'S FINAL VERDICT

Here's my challenge to BNL:

Stop asking whether you're good enough.

Start asking:

“Who can beat us?”

That's the mentality this program needs.

BNL has tradition.

It has a community that cares.

It has athletes.

It has a coach who knows the school because he once wore the uniform himself.

And now it has something else:

Momentum.

Tidd took BNL from 2-9 to 8-4.

He took the Stars to a sectional championship game.

He came up short.

And instead of backing off, he's come back with a new-look football team.

That's why Uncle Judd is paying attention.

Because maybe this isn't just another coaching tenure.

Maybe this is the beginning of the next great BNL football era.

Maybe Brayden Tidd really is the next Bret Szabo.

And maybe the first step is finally putting another sectional championship trophy in Bedford.

Then?

Well...

Why stop there?

Sectional.

Regional.

Semi-State.

STATE.

That's the mountain.

And Uncle Judd isn't saying BNL has already climbed it.

I'm saying it's time for somebody in Bedford to believe they can.

Because the worst thing BNL football could do right now is look at what happened in 2025 and say:

“That was good enough.”

No.

It wasn't.

It was a start.

And if Tidd is really the next Bret Szabo, then BNL fans may be watching the beginning of something much bigger than an 8-4 football season.

The Stars have been waiting long enough.

Now it's time to finish.

UNCLE JUDD
Hoosier Gridiron Critic

I don't care about the name on the front of the jersey. I care about what happens between the lines.

And BNL?

You've got everybody's attention now.