[pjdoug]

Know that what I'm about to say is in NO WAY a slight to any school within the state of Kentucky. I'm not a person who complains about where an athlete lives. no school that actually competes at a high level has 100% of their roster live with in their "school district". And just because you have an attractive program that draws kids who want to compete at a high level does NOT mean you recruit. That being said Williamson must really crank out a ton of good players. Mingo Central has made it to the state championship, and Belfry has won three in a row with the high likelihood of a fourth. I know most of those kids live in Belfry but a few have crossed the river. I'm just saying that for a small area, it is a rural football factory.

:pondering:

[EKUAlum05]

Know that what I'm about to say is in NO WAY a slight to any school within the state of Kentucky. I'm not a person who complains about where an athlete lives. no school that actually competes at a high level has 100% of their roster live with in their "school district". And just because you have an attractive program that draws kids who want to compete at a high level does NOT mean you recruit. That being said Williamson must really crank out a ton of good players. Mingo Central has made it to the state championship, and Belfry has won three in a row with the high likelihood of a fourth. I know most of those kids live in Belfry but a few have crossed the river. I'm just saying that for a small area, it is a rural football factory.

Coaching

Obviously Haywood everyone knows about but for Belfry it is all levels. Great coaching at the feeder level and great assistants.

Hate him or love him Mingo Central has a winning coach as well in Kinder. He may be the polar opposite of Haywood as a mentor but he can win at football.

Throw in Coach Mac at Pikeville and you will be hard pressed to find three better coaches in a 50 mile radius anywhere in rural America.

It's not like the area is dripping with elite talent or has been for years, just good talent mixed with great coaching and an instilled "toughness" from decades of coal miners mixed with a strong sense of pride.

This current Belfry class was is the exception with all the talent, but Belfry and Pikeville has been winning for decades without D1 guys as well

[Big Don]

Looks like pjdougie's mommy let him back on the computer today.

[pjdoug]

Looks like pjdougie's mommy let him back on the computer today.

I'm your hero. Ain't I? I can see how you'd look up to me.

[proud44pirate]

I hope Mingo Central wins it, just don't think they need on BLUEGRASS rivals. If I hated West Virginia I wouldn't be living there.

[trublu1024]

I'm the product of a Belfry alum and a Matawan WV (Mingo Co.) alum. Was born in Mingo Co. Lived most my life in Pike co. graduated Belfry and now live in Williamson WV where I cross the river to watch a lot of Belfry games. And take in a Mingo game when I can. I consider both schools my hometown and want them both to succeed. And it's not just me, there are many people like me. Like was mentioned it's just a single town with a river running through it that just happens to divide into 2 states. Still one area. Still one people. Many family members one both sides. Going to both schools. That's why I care and a lot of others do. I think it was mentioned that any surrounding states teams of interest to BGR members are fair topics. Which means to me===If you're offended go pout somewhere else.

[cuppett777]

I see nothing wrong with it,when I was there I lived in matewan and the step kids went to Belfry and one of them played for them and they always went to Belfry.i always keep up with other local teams but was ALL Belfry..

[bucslover68]

Just because I don't care for the coach does not mean I wouldn't want MC to win. i know a lot of people that are affiliated with that school/program and I am a firm believer that if you begrudge good coming to other people or teams, that it takes some of the shine off your own.

[pjdoug]

Coaching

Obviously Haywood everyone knows about but for Belfry it is all levels. Great coaching at the feeder level and great assistants.

Hate him or love him Mingo Central has a winning coach as well in Kinder. He may be the polar opposite of Haywood as a mentor but he can win at football.

Throw in Coach Mac at Pikeville and you will be hard pressed to find three better coaches in a 50 mile radius anywhere in rural America.

It's not like the area is dripping with elite talent or has been for years, just good talent mixed with great coaching and an instilled "toughness" from decades of coal miners mixed with a strong sense of pride.

This current Belfry class was is the exception with all the talent, but Belfry and Pikeville has been winning for decades without D1 guys as well

Most All of East Kentucky has decades of coal miners and a strong sense of pride.

[Lakers_football]

I grew up in Nicholas county West Virginia now I live in Hardin county. Just saying

[Single Wing 77]

Most All of East Kentucky has decades of coal miners and a strong sense of pride.

While I do agree with what you are saying, the same can be said for Martin, Floyd, and Letcher counties among others. In my opinion blue collar jobs are the most important thing to a high school football teams success. But statistically the entire appilachian area has been losing jobs hand over fist for the last decade. Yet that is when Belfry has had their most dominant stretch in history. I honestly don't think it has to do with coaching per se. Not a knock on Haywood he is arguably the best coach in Kentucky, but he Was there in the 70's, 80's, and 90's too. The talent level only really started to take off in the early 2000's.

[AtlPirateFan]

Most All of East Kentucky has decades of coal miners and a strong sense of pride.

And when they had good coaching to go along with that they also excelled on the field. Once the coaching talent dropped in other parts of Eastern KY so did the on field performance in other places that share that same proud history. EKY wasn't saying it was just that one thing that makes them successful on the field, he's saying it's that combined with other elements to make the teams in these areas so good on the field currently.

Schools like Breathitt, Bell, Sheldon Clark, Prestonsburg, etc that have fallen on hard times have all the same talent potential from those same kinds of kids, but in all those situations either Coaching, Administration or both are holding them back. Teams need all pieces of the puzzle to win consistently. Look at Paintsville where good coaching brought the team back to the forefront of their class.

[WinkWinkler]

Mingo central benefited by the addition of Jeremy Dillon. former Tug Valley standout. They would not let him play quarterback at Tug Valley. He has put up unbelievable numbers and is on his way in being named the AA Player of Year. That begs the question, "Does the system or the player make the difference?"

[EKUAlum05]

Most All of East Kentucky has decades of coal miners and a strong sense of pride.

But they don't have Coaching....

[EKUAlum05]

While I do agree with what you are saying, the same can be said for Martin, Floyd, and Letcher counties among others. In my opinion blue collar jobs are the most important thing to a high school football teams success. But statistically the entire appilachian area has been losing jobs hand over fist for the last decade. Yet that is when Belfry has had their most dominant stretch in history. I honestly don't think it has to do with coaching per se. Not a knock on Haywood he is arguably the best coach in Kentucky, but he Was there in the 70's, 80's, and 90's too. The talent level only really started to take off in the early 2000's.

It still 100% is about coaching.

Feeder Program, Feeder Program, Feeder Program!

When Belfry consolidated their feeder programs into one you saw the first big shift in belfry football in the early 2000's, obviously having Doug Howard and David Jones at the same time didn't hurt.

Once Belfry consolidated feeder programs you had ONE voice carrying out Haywood's system, they werent playing each other and creating animosity, numbers in the feeder system increased. They started playing kids form other areas.

It was also this time that longtime D-Coordinator Steve Mickey had retired but chose to basically resurrect Belfry's grassroots feeder program. Now kids were playing football in 3rd or 4th Grade and were already starting to learn the system.

The other major shift was when Belfry's Middle School program evolved to the level that they started playing statewide competition. This current Senior Class was the first one to play for a KYMSFA title and began a streak of four 4 straight Championship wins. They finally failed to win a title this year, but still reached the Semi-Finals. This has been the turning point that has taken Belfry to the next level.

Look at your Semi-Finals this week:
Belfry- KYMSFA Power
Etown- KYMSFA Power
Corbin- KYMSFA Power
Johnson Central- KYMSFA Power
South Oldham- KYMSFA Power
Pulaski County- KYMSFA Power
CAL- KYMSFA Power

Just to name some off the top of my head...


The mixture of Coaching at the HS level, Coaching at the Feeder Level, and just hard nosed kids with a lot of pride is what makes them what they are. Also, Belfry's pride isn't the same as most others. Very few EKY programs have the culture Belfry does where kids feel a sense of responsibility to be successful and carry on a legacy.

[EKUAlum05]

Corbin has the blueprint to compete with Belfry, just Haddix hasn't had a chance to fully mold his feeder system to his specifications just yet. He is alsoa young coach still having to learn a few things from experience like the lessons he got taught in the 2nd Half Friday.

Tradition= Check
Pride= Check
Support= Check
Culture of Winning= Check
Coaching at Feeder= Check
Coaching at High School= Check

I anticipate Corbin will be at a very high level for years to come

[pjdoug]

But they don't have Coaching....

So Jenkins would compete for state every year if they had Dudley Hilton?

[EKUAlum05]

So Jenkins would compete for state every year if they had Dudley Hilton?

If they had Dudley Hilton and he revamped their program from top to bottom I guarantee you would see them drastically improve.

Jenkins is a tough example though because it is such a small school with a very finite amount of students to pull from.

If you put Dudley, in his prime, at historically underachieving Clay County or Knott Central and he built it from the ground up do you not think they would become a powerhouse?

The examples are everywhere:
Look at Bourbon County under Hilton when they go from 3 wins to 3 losses and a State Title

Look at Sheldon Clark before Matney and after Matney

Look at Lawrence County before and after Chuke Williams

Look at Johnson Central before Matney and after Matney. People forget that Johnson Central was a lower tier program for decades that had numerous 3 win or less seasons.


Probably the best example: Look at Breathitt County after Holcomb and after their feeder System got destroyed. At the peak of Breathitt, when their Middle School was stout and running Holcomb's system they were dominating and the pride of EKY... after Holcomb left and the State shut down funding Breathitt now has turned into exactly what you would think a school in the middle of nowhere would be.

[pjdoug]

If they had Dudley Hilton and he revamped their program from top to bottom I guarantee you would see them drastically improve.

Jenkins is a tough example though because it is such a small school with a very finite amount of students to pull from.

If you put Dudley, in his prime, at historically underachieving Clay County or Knott Central and he built it from the ground up do you not think they would become a powerhouse?

The examples are everywhere:
Look at Bourbon County under Hilton when they go from 3 wins to 3 losses and a State Title

Look at Sheldon Clark before Matney and after Matney

Look at Lawrence County before and after Chuke Williams

Look at Johnson Central before Matney and after Matney. People forget that Johnson Central was a lower tier program for decades that had numerous 3 win or less seasons.


Probably the best example: Look at Breathitt County after Holcomb and after their feeder System got destroyed. At the peak of Breathitt, when their Middle School was stout and running Holcomb's system they were dominating and the pride of EKY... after Holcomb left and the State shut down funding Breathitt now has turned into exactly what you would think a school in the middle of nowhere would be.

Why did Holcomb leave?

[pjdoug]

How much population does Belfry have?

[EKUAlum05]

Why did Holcomb leave?

Good question

Pretty clear the state take over was imminent but I always heard retirement was also a big part of it

Never heard an official reason

[EKUAlum05]

How much population does Belfry have?

People forget Belfry is not an independent school it is a county school

Belfry is tiny and literally a one stop light community, but you have probably 10 different communities part of the school district

I don't know how to quantify the population of the entire District. Maybe someone that can figure out magistrate districts could get a decent estimation? Not sure.

[irishcard16]

Belfry population as of 2000 was 3,427. I imagine it has declined significantly since then but like was said earlier it is a county school and other smaller communities flow into the Belfry school district. I imagine somewhere around 5,000-6,000 is the population for the Belfry school district.

[Buc-a-roo]

People forget Belfry is not an independent school it is a county school

Belfry is tiny and literally a one stop light community, but you have probably 10 different communities part of the school district

I don't know how to quantify the population of the entire District. Maybe someone that can figure out magistrate districts could get a decent estimation? Not sure.

Belfry's school district includes Aflex, Belfry, Burnwell, Canada, Forest Hills, Goody, Hardy, Hatfield, Huddy, McAndrews, McCarr, McVeigh, Pinsonfork, Ransom, Sidney, South Williamson, Stone, Toler and Turkey Creek.

Look at this link :

http://kentucky.hometownlocator.com/coun...c,pike.cfm

All those communities are included in the three Pike County subdivisions that make up Belfry's school district. Populations as follows

McCarr Subdivision, population 1,835
Sidney Subdivision, population 3,025
S. Williamson Subdivision, population 7,936

For a total population of 12,796 as of July 2016

[AtlPirateFan]

These are the numbers from 2015 vote to redistrict the Pike Co Schools by the BOE. The first number is the number before redistrict and the second is the number after the vote passed. Its been so long since I lived in the area I couldn't tell you off the top of my head which district Belfry falls into (or any of the other schools). These are full population numbers not student enrollment.

District 1: 8,881 -> 9,323

District 2: 12,359 -> 10,522

District 3: 7,923 -> 10,137

District 4: 9,323 -> 7,993

District 5: 5,749 -> 6,260

[BoondockSaint]

A factor that a lot of you have left out is the location of Mingo Central.

Kids in the Williamson area and it's former feeder communities have a much shorter, safer drive to Belfry. Combine that with the KHSAA's decision to split the classes (yes, it's more watered down now), the deterioration of most all Mingo Co. schools, the state of the art facilities BHS has had for over a decade, the curriculum in KY compared to WV, etc,....all of these factors and possibly a few more led to people migrating across the river.

It's not necessarily simple, but this trend has been developing since the early to mid-90s.

[kids03]

They not only come from Mingo Central in W Va but also from Tug Valley HS in WVa. Then throw in (Martin Co) Sheldon Clark, Phelps and probably a few from PIke Central area

[bo67]

This is how Kentucky playoffs should look. W Va does it right

[dangerousdaneerfan]

This is how Kentucky playoffs should look. W Va does it right

Quite true as we have seen neighboring community high schools play each other for the state title over the years.

[BoondockSaint]

There's many cons to WV's point system playoff format.

If KY went to a format that only gave three teams a playoff birth, with the 1 seed getting a bye our playoff format would be much better than WV's.