[StrikeoutKing]

I knew Belfry was good, but to completely dominate the game the way they did was just unreal. JC could not do hardly anything the entire night. Ratliff under threw nearly every pass, and Belfry just ran over the JC defense. I knew Belfry would run the ball and play tough defense, but what really impressed me was the pass defense (up until the 4th quarter as most have already pointed out). A few false start penalties got Haywood upset, but other than that, I can't think of anything that Belfry did wrong. I haven't seen teams like Breathitt County and Russell play, so what I'm getting ready to say is based solely on the performance I saw last night...I can't think of anything that could stop Belfry from winning a state title. This team was clicking last night on every cylinder. Congrats Belfry and Coach Haywood, and good luck in the playoffs. As for Johnson Central, keep your heads up. You all are still a good football team, and I wish you the best of luck as well.

[mrfootball03]

I knew Belfry was ready to play..

[GOREDDEVILS]

There is about 3 other teams who have legit chance of stopping belfry and thats Central,Breathitt,Russell.

With Central Any time you come within 8 points of beating Fort Thomas you have a pretty good team and should not be over looked.

With Breathitt you have a 10 and 0 team who must be pretty good.

With Russell you have 9-1 team who you can't over look either

Bottom line is there are no bad teams when you get into the regional championship,semis, state final round of the playoffs and you better be on your game and not make mistakes or you could be going home early.

[cobra67]

I think the best thing we can do as a team is forget about this title talk and take care of business on the field.Plenty of time to talk about it after Dec.7 or else we could very well overlook a good team and we could be in the stands watching on Dec.7.Come on guys.Lets not waste a potentially Historic season by getting lax.Go Pirates.Respect all comers from here on out! Remember you just get one shot

[EKUAlum05]

I'd be willing to bet money on Belfry reaching the championship a whole lot easier if they were in the Western half of the state. The east side of the state is absolutely loaded this season. Belfry's road is not as easy as people think:

Round 1 (without your starting QB) against Magoffin County

Round 2 vs. Sheldon Clark (Arguably the 4th best 3A team in the state, who will be playing fired up after Belfry spanked them earlier this season)

Round 3 @ Somerset (Bad enough you have to go on the road, but the Jumpers offense is red hot. They posess arguably the state's best player in John Cole, they are a passing team, and Belfry's only apparent weakness on defense thusfar has been passing.)

In Round 4 you have your choice of an undefeated Bretahitt that runs a spread offense and has a defense quick enough to cause Belfry problems. You have ultra athletic Mason County, who also can spread the field. And you have Russell who just last year dominated the Pirates and completely shutdown the wishbone.

Survive all this and your reward is probably Lou. Central who SHOULD have beat Highlands last night and is laoded with D-1 potential, speed, and size.

[phs1986]

VERY informative post!!

[Panther Thunder]

I'd be willing to bet money on Belfry reaching the championship a whole lot easier if they were in the Western half of the state. The east side of the state is absolutely loaded this season. Belfry's road is not as easy as people think:

Round 1 (without your starting QB) against Magoffin County

Round 2 vs. Sheldon Clark (Arguably the 4th best 3A team in the state, who will be playing fired up after Belfry spanked them earlier this season)

Round 3 @ Somerset (Bad enough you have to go on the road, but the Jumpers offense is red hot. They posess arguably the state's best player in John Cole, they are a passing team, and Belfry's only apparent weakness on defense thusfar has been passing.)

In Round 4 you have your choice of an undefeated Bretahitt that runs a spread offense and has a defense quick enough to cause Belfry problems. You have ultra athletic Mason County, who also can spread the field. And you have Russell who just last year dominated the Pirates and completely shutdown the wishbone.

Survive all this and your reward is probably Lou. Central who SHOULD have beat Highlands last night and is laoded with D-1 potential, speed, and size.

all this being said it would a GREAT set of games to be a Belfry fan for!!

[FBALL]

I'd be willing to bet money on Belfry reaching the championship a whole lot easier if they were in the Western half of the state. The east side of the state is absolutely loaded this season. Belfry's road is not as easy as people think:

Round 1 (without your starting QB) against Magoffin County

Round 2 vs. Sheldon Clark (Arguably the 4th best 3A team in the state, who will be playing fired up after Belfry spanked them earlier this season)

Round 3 @ Somerset (Bad enough you have to go on the road, but the Jumpers offense is red hot. They posess arguably the state's best player in John Cole, they are a passing team, and Belfry's only apparent weakness on defense thusfar has been passing.)

In Round 4 you have your choice of an undefeated Bretahitt that runs a spread offense and has a defense quick enough to cause Belfry problems. You have ultra athletic Mason County, who also can spread the field. And you have Russell who just last year dominated the Pirates and completely shutdown the wishbone.

Survive all this and your reward is probably Lou. Central who SHOULD have beat Highlands last night and is laoded with D-1 potential, speed, and size.

The East in 3A is loaded. It won't be an easy road for any of those teams. Russell and Mason probably have the toughest route.

That being said Belfry and Louisville Central both made a statement this weekend.

As for Johnson Central. It certainly appears they don't play as well when they play against a team that takes the fight to them. They have been the aggressor in most of their games but did not respond well when they faced teams like Woodford and Belfry that would not be intimidated.

[Cardsftw2010]

Im not neccesarily surprised that Belfry won, they're a good team. What surprises me is the score..thought JC would have put up more of a fight than that.

Congratz to Belfry

[DevilsWin]

Round 3 @ Somerset (Bad enough you have to go on the road, but the Jumpers offense is red hot. They posess arguably the state's best player in John Cole, they are a passing team, and Belfry's only apparent weakness on defense thusfar has been passing.)

This is the exact same scenario that Ft Campbell went through in 2005. They had Micah Johnson rushing for over 1266 yards and 26 tds. As a team they had 3213 yards.
Leading into their last game they had scored a total of 549 points but allowed only 44 in 11 games.
Not to mention Division 1 Prospects at linebacker and in the secondary. They ran into a buzzsaw by the name of Owensboro Catholic and got beat 28-25.

[sportsfan1]

Congrats Belfry. Good win.

[DEVILOLOGIST]

Great Job Belfry!!!!!!!!!!!
You Are For Real..........!!!!!

[TeamMom]

irateSho There's no question about it....we come ready to win! Way to go Pirates!

[E-ROCK]

Looks like it was a great game.

[15thRegionCrazy]

Congrats Belfry

[EKUAlum05]

This is the exact same scenario that Ft Campbell went through in 2005. They had Micah Johnson rushing for over 1266 yards and 26 tds. As a team they had 3213 yards.
Leading into their last game they had scored a total of 549 points but allowed only 44 in 11 games.
Not to mention Division 1 Prospects at linebacker and in the secondary. They ran into a buzzsaw by the name of Owensboro Catholic and got beat 28-25.

There is one definitive difference between tthis year's Belfry and that partiuclar Ft. Campbell team. Phillip Haywood.

It may sound very cliche' but never underestimate the pwoer of a coach who has been coaching talented teams for almost 30 years and has 300 wins under his belt. Not saying that ft. Campbell has/had a poor coach, but Haywood has experienced teams getting too big for their britches before and knows how to keep his teams heads from getting too inflated.

But,,, to help defend your arguement it seems as though every year the favorite team seems to lsoe in the old 2A, now 3A.

In 2003, O'Cath was loaded with the state's leading rusher AND leading passer, they never caught the scent of the carpet.

In 2004, E-town returned 4 D-1 prospects off their state runner-up team. Corbin wiped them out.

In 2005, Ft. Campbell was loaded with D-1 athletes, also Belfry was heavily favored as the defending champs to knock out Russell for a second straight year....

If I recall, wasn't Russell pre-season #1 before all the Mercer County hype began?


The playoffs are 5 very tough games, and alot can happen, the Pirates enter with a gigantic bullseye on their back, lets see how they handle it.

[Elwayfan]

I called this one, only I had the final score 28-12 Belfry, instead of 28-14

[BoondockSaint]

I called this one, only I had the final score 28-12 Belfry, instead of 28-14

It was 28-12...hence the title.

[BoondockSaint]

There is one definitive difference between tthis year's Belfry and that partiuclar Ft. Campbell team. Phillip Haywood.

It may sound very cliche' but never underestimate the pwoer of a coach who has been coaching talented teams for almost 30 years and has 300 wins under his belt. Not saying that ft. Campbell has/had a poor coach, but Haywood has experienced teams getting too big for their britches before and knows how to keep his teams heads from getting too inflated.

But,,, to help defend your arguement it seems as though every year the favorite team seems to lsoe in the old 2A, now 3A.

In 2003, O'Cath was loaded with the state's leading rusher AND leading passer, they never caught the scent of the carpet.

In 2004, E-town returned 4 D-1 prospects off their state runner-up team. Corbin wiped them out.

In 2005, Ft. Campbell was loaded with D-1 athletes, also Belfry was heavily favored as the defending champs to knock out Russell for a second straight year....

If I recall, wasn't Russell pre-season #1 before all the Mercer County hype began?


The playoffs are 5 very tough games, and alot can happen, the Pirates enter with a gigantic bullseye on their back, lets see how they handle it.

In my eyes Belfry and Middlesboro were the favorites in 2003.

[EKUAlum05]

In my eyes Belfry and Middlesboro were the favorites in 2003.

Mine too... but that particular season if you were to have surveyed the state, O'Cath was the unanimous favorite. The Aces topped nearly every poll the entire season, whetehr it be the computer rankings, the AP Poll, wesbite's individual rankings... it was O'Cath's to lose. Additionally, Breathitt County also spent the majority of the year high in the rankings, that was until Middlesboro defeated them, followed soon by 3 Seed Prestonsburg.

As domiannt as Belfry has been, Central is ahead of the Pirates in nearly every computer poll (Lit, Cantrall, and Massey).

[Elwayfan]

It was 28-12...hence the title.

HENCE! My mistake, I called it 28-14, instead of 28-12

[kyr450]

Mine too... but that particular season if you were to have surveyed the state, O'Cath was the unanimous favorite. The Aces topped nearly every poll the entire season, whetehr it be the computer rankings, the AP Poll, wesbite's individual rankings... it was O'Cath's to lose. Additionally, Breathitt County also spent the majority of the year high in the rankings, that was until Middlesboro defeated them, followed soon by 3 Seed Prestonsburg.

As domiannt as Belfry has been, Central is ahead of the Pirates in nearly every computer poll (Lit, Cantrall, and Massey).

Yea but look what Johnson Central did to Central... An look at what Belfry did to JC... Computer polls are junk...

[BHSdude91]

i thought johnson central was gonna give the pirates a run for their money....but in the end it was only a "ego boost" game for belfry..congrats pirates

[BoondockSaint]

HENCE! My mistake, I called it 28-14, instead of 28-12

I figured that was what you meant, but I had to mess with you anyway.

By the way...to all of you questioning the rankings. Computer polls have never had a Belfry team @ #1 to my knowledge, but it all works out in the end.

[EKUAlum05]

I figured that was what you meant, but I had to mess with you anyway.

By the way...to all of you questioning the rankings. Computer polls have never had a Belfry team @ #1 to my knowledge, but it all works out in the end.

Actually, now thta you mention it, the Pirates are getting mad love from the Massey ratings right now.

Not only are the Pirates the clearcut #1 in 3A, they are also rated as the #7 overall team in the state regardless of class.

http://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?lg=hsf&sub=KY

[BoondockSaint]

Actually, now thta you mention it, the Pirates are getting mad love from the Massey ratings right now.

Not only are the Pirates the clearcut #1 in 3A, they are also rated as the #7 overall team in the state regardless of class.

http://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?lg=hsf&sub=KY

I hope it isn't a jinx.

[TeamMom]

I figured that was what you meant, but I had to mess with you anyway.

By the way...to all of you questioning the rankings. Computer polls have never had a Belfry team @ #1 to my knowledge, but it all works out in the end.

This is true....

[TeamMom]

I hope it isn't a jinx.

Me too...