Bluegrassrivals

Have read a number of places that many think Belfry will not be as strong this coming season as in recent years. I am not so sure.

They have experience in the secondary and at LB.
They have a leader and big play threat in Thomas Varney.
Timmy Lovern and Chase Maynard should both be complimentary RB's.
They have a lot of good skill players, albeit young.

WHY WILL BELFRY BE DOWN?

Lack of size/strength up front?

PaytoPlay Wrote:Have read a number of places that many think Belfry will not be as strong this coming season as in recent years. I am not so sure.

They have experience in the secondary and at LB.
They have a leader and big play threat in Thomas Varney.
Timmy Lovern and Chase Maynard should both be complimentary RB's.
They have a lot of good skill players, albeit young.

WHY WILL BELFRY BE DOWN?

Lack of size/strength up front?

Loss of Corey Coleman, Ivan Lee, Andrew Elkins, ect. Inexperience, Inexperience, & Inexperience.. And condsidering contenders like Breathitt Co. don't lose as much.. Belfry will be a contender by seasons end, but will it be enough to take it from contenders to champions? I wouldn't bet on it.

mrfootball03 Wrote:Loss of Corey Coleman, Ivan Lee, Andrew Elkins, ect. Inexperience, Inexperience, & Inexperience.. And condsidering contenders like Breathitt Co. don't lose as much.. Belfry will be a contender by seasons end, but will it be enough to take it from contenders to champions? I wouldn't bet on it.

Oh ye of little faith... LOL.... If you know Coach Haywood any at all then you know that these young men will be well prepared for the upcoming season and will be placed in the positions to get the most from their abilities. Granted, their schedule this season is by far going to be tougher than anything they have played in the last few years but they do have some young talent that will step up and be playmakers for the Pirates.... They WILL be prepared and they will be tested..... I feel that they will be able to be a step above what some are giving them credit for.... I guess we'll just have to wait and see!!

In all practicality Belfry should truly be reloading. Loss of numerous key starters, most of which who were 3 year starters.

With that said the 2005 Belfry team was by far the biggest rebuilding job the Pirates have seen in the past 10-15 years. That squad suffered some bumps along the way thanks to a difficult schedule and was a still false start away from 3-peating IMO. That was a very over achieving team, whoich is a credit to the kids and to Belfry's coaching staff.

This Belfry team will have ALOT of similarities to that 2005 squad IMO. If thy approach the Spring and Summer with the same work thic of that team then thy will very well be a contender. Even in this "down year" Belfry will easily still be on of th Top 5 3A teams in the state.

I agree with most that the Pirates will be filling some gaps this season. However i would never count them out of anything with the kind of program they have!

EKUAlum05 Wrote:In all practicality Belfry should truly be reloading. Loss of numerous key starters, most of which who were 3 year starters.

With that said the 2005 Belfry team was by far the biggest rebuilding job the Pirates have seen in the past 10-15 years. That squad suffered some bumps along the way thanks to a difficult schedule and was a still false start away from 3-peating IMO. That was a very over achieving team, whoich is a credit to the kids and to Belfry's coaching staff.

This Belfry team will have ALOT of similarities to that 2005 squad IMO. If thy approach the Spring and Summer with the same work thic of that team then thy will very well be a contender. Even in this "down year" Belfry will easily still be on of th Top 5 3A teams in the state.

So '04 wasn't a bigger rebuilding job? All but 3 starters were lost on offense, and 4 on defense from a team that won Belfry's first state title.

This years team has their work cut out for them. I'm anxious to see how it all pans out.

Belfry should never have a rebuilding year with those facilities and a county like Pike. They will be ready and no one will overlook them!!!

IMO Belfry is always tough, even on what they call a rebuild year. There are a lot of schools that would kill for one of their " down " years. Best wishes in the upcoming season.:Thumbs:

Leonidas Wrote:So '04 wasn't a bigger rebuilding job? All but 3 starters were lost on offense, and 4 on defense from a team that won Belfry's first state title.

This years team has their work cut out for them. I'm anxious to see how it all pans out.

Doug, David, and G.... as soon as those guys returned it was impossible to label it as rebuilding.

I heard that they were going to be down to what position lose is going to hurt them the most?

i know, right? Wrote:I heard that they were going to be down to what position lose is going to hurt them the most?

IMO, D-line. When you lose players the calibur of Randy Webb, Ivan Lee, Cory Coleman, and Gary Hall it will certainly have a major impact.

Other positions:
QB- Lose your 3 year starter in Elkins, Belfry has proven they can win though without the passing threat needed at QB and with inexperienced signal callers.

RB- Lost Lee and Dotson, but this position was porbably the deepest of any team in the state of KY last year. Belfry's RB's will be fine and they return leading rusher Thomas Varney.

ENDS-The Pirates by and large will be in good shape at SE and TE.

OL- Lose two good ones in Whetstone and Webb, and a great one in Coleman. Belfry historically is deep on the OL and rotate a lot of players. The issue will be in size and strength compared to last year.

LB- Lose your tackling machine and 3 year starter in Dotson. Blackburn and Runyon will make a phenominal duo (maybe the best LB duo in the mountains by the time they are Seniors) but they still have a lot of improving and learning to do.

DB- Lose your best CB in Elkins, but by and large Belfry will be sound.

K- Lee graduates, will be tricky to replace

P- Varney returns

KR- One of the best trio of kick returners in the state in Maynard, Varney, and Lovern

It's the trenches Belfry is hurting the worst right now... they only suffered sporadic losses elsewhere, but the losses elsewhere were to 3 year starters who were all playmakers capable of dominating a game. Dotson, Elkins, Lee, Coleman, Webb, and Hall all were VERY good on both sides of the ball. It may only be 6 players, but those 6 are equal to 13 starting spots if you include Ivan as a kicker.

As I said... major losses to graduation. But, enough key players and enough of a nucleus that they can be right there come November.

The backfield will run for alot of yards. They have home run hitters at all the skill spots. They have very good team speed. But they wll be inexperienced at key spots and much smaller than your typical Belfry team.

Belfry has pound for pound one of the toughest schedules of any team in the state (in comparison to last year which was a joke). I see them going anywhere from 5-5 (possible losses to Whitley, JC, LCC, Ashland, and SC) to 8-2 in the regular season (can't see them beating Whitley or JC)

As long as Haywood is around they will be contenders in their class.

phs1986 Wrote:Oh ye of little faith... LOL.... If you know Coach Haywood any at all then you know that these young men will be well prepared for the upcoming season and will be placed in the positions to get the most from their abilities. Granted, their schedule this season is by far going to be tougher than anything they have played in the last few years but they do have some young talent that will step up and be playmakers for the Pirates.... They WILL be prepared and they will be tested..... I feel that they will be able to be a step above what some are giving them credit for.... I guess we'll just have to wait and see!!

tell them sis they may be young but alot of them has heart and will give it there all...by the way hello from madisonville,ky................go pirates

EKUAlum05 Wrote:Doug, David, and G.... as soon as those guys returned it was impossible to label it as rebuilding.

I know...replacing a two-year starter at QB, a line that was loaded with 2-3 year starters, a 3 year starter at TE, and a SE was a cakewalk.

To be honest, now that I think about it, I really wouldn't call either of those years rebuilding years. They were years in which the cupboard was full and we "reloaded".

But I don't think the cupboard runneth over presently.

Contender

I can you can call me optimistic about his upcoming season. Coach Haywood and staff have really earned my respect in recent years for their ability to get younger players ready to contribute at the varsity level.

I would prefer to line up with a bunch of fully mature Juniors and Seniors, but If you have to play sophmores - at least hope they are talented.

Are they really going to be THAT small?

PaytoPlay Wrote:I can you can call me optimistic about his upcoming season. Coach Haywood and staff have really earned my respect in recent years for their ability to get younger players ready to contribute at the varsity level.

I would prefer to line up with a bunch of fully mature Juniors and Seniors, but If you have to play sophmores - at least hope they are talented.

Are they really going to be THAT small?

Yes.


In the past 4 years, BMS has been extremely small. We are very small and YOUNG. There are a lot of 16 yr old Jr's and 17yr old Sr's

Just to let you guys know i drove by the cam today and I say 30-40 guys were already out their today in pads for spring practice!

I believe they are Contenders.

how is spring pactice going?

Unfortunately, IMO Belfry will be a pretender. They will get better as the season progresses......but I simply can't see any scenario where Belfry is a major contender for a deep run in 3A. Limited size and inexperience at QB will be a hinderance throughout the season.

Pretender nthis year but a major contender next year!

Just curious but how many guys there are lifting right now?

Probably ALL of them

KCC fan92 Wrote:Probably ALL of them

too bad all of ours isn't lifting.

I would say 90-100 percent are lifting. I think it is one of there classes actually and that how they lift. Plus alot show up after school to.

Anyone in particular standing out in spring ball? Is the Frosh QB participating in spring practice or does he play baseball?

Eat plenty and work hard guys!

PaytoPlay Wrote:Anyone in particular standing out in spring ball? Is the Frosh QB participating in spring practice or does he play baseball?

Eat plenty and work hard guys!

First off maybe, just maybe I can answer some of the questions that have been asked on here about the boys.

First, yes, they are ALL lifting and have been lifting throughout the year. They have not stopped and to be honest, quite a few of them won't stop! LOL.... They will continue to lift even during the offseason and in the summer if it means going to city gym and obtaining a membership. That's just how it is...:Thumbs:

Secondly, the Freshman QB is not taking part in the spring practice as he does play baseball. There are only 4 of the freshman from the football team on this years baseball team. BUT, oh... they are all 4 still lifting everyday... :Thumbs: (oops... didn't I already mention that?? LOL)....

Third, and finally, I do believe that the goals are already set for each and every young man who was on the team last year. They KNOW what is expected from them and with the respect they have for Coach Haywood and the BHS staff, they will do their best to accomplish it. NOT by any means saying they know their positions and such, just that they know they are to be preparing themselves for the long run and to get themselves ready. They each have individual goals set forth for them and they will each work on them and continue to do what they are doing, and doing it faithfully. Also, IF I'm not mistaken, the 8th graders who will be upcoming freshman are already working out a "lifting" plan and taking advantage of the weight room as well.

Hopefully, this will give some of you some insight to what is going on right now. I'm there everyday so I do see who is coming and going.... I'm getting through one season at a time (which at the moment is baseball-which I love!!!)........ but at Belfry.... It's football all year long baby!!! LOL....

yeah, football players @ Belfry have always been required to have weight training for a class..

Belfry will always be a contender.