[cuppett777]

If the trend results in Belfry going to Bowling Green as SC sits at home like last year, then I am fine with it.

thats a good one Eku, i like that,lol

[bucslover68]

Belfry versus Boyd County scrimmage...Belfry looks real good in the uniforms...stud players on the field. Basically 4 what I would say varsity versus varsity drives the time I was there...Boyd did not score or threaten on any of their ten play drives...They did score on a long play JV versus JV as I was leaving....Belfry scored on first two drives...Long ten play drive with a Trey Willis short plunge for TD...Second drive about a 20-25 yard TD run by Justin Johnson...Next two Belfry drives ended deep in BC territory at the 10 and 15...No major fumble problems for the Pirates...As usual, timing an issue, but not terrible...Starting backfield for Belfry...Tyler Williams at QB, Willis FB, Josh Robinson at one half and Justin Johnson at the other...Josh Dixon did not play HB till 3rd series and ran well...D was solid not spectacular but can be very good. Very tough up the middle...Gary Runyon and Tony Messer are imposing at DE...Secondary was Dixon and Robinson at safety and Sani Warren and Zach Thacker at CB...O line blocked well and Tyler threw a couple of balls that were dropped. Warren took most, if not all, the snaps in the last 3 series and threw the short ball well on outs except for one overthrow...Overall I give Belfry a B with as usual a lot of room to improve, but they have all the makings of a real good team and I think one thing that stuck out was all the sophomores that played...First impression good with a chance to improve and play a good Hazard team in a scrimmage next week.

[cuppett777]

Belfry versus Boyd County scrimmage...Belfry looks real good in the uniforms...stud players on the field. Basically 4 what I would say varsity versus varsity drives the time I was there...Boyd did not score or threaten on any of their ten play drives...They did score on a long play JV versus JV as I was leaving....Belfry scored on first two drives...Long ten play drive with a Trey Willis short plunge for TD...Second drive about a 20-25 yard TD run by Justin Johnson...Next two Belfry drives ended deep in BC territory at the 10 and 15...No major fumble problems for the Pirates...As usual, timing an issue, but not terrible...Starting backfield for Belfry...Tyler Williams at QB, Willis FB, Josh Robinson at one half and Justin Johnson at the other...Josh Dixon did not play HB till 3rd series and ran well...D was solid not spectacular but can be very good. Very tough up the middle...Gary Runyon and Tony Messer are imposing at DE...Secondary was Dixon and Robinson at safety and Sani Warren and Zach Thacker at CB...O line blocked well and Tyler threw a couple of balls that were dropped. Warren took most, if not all, the snaps in the last 3 series and threw the short ball well on outs except for one overthrow...Overall I give Belfry a B with as usual a lot of room to improve, but they have all the makings of a real good team and I think one thing that stuck out was all the sophomores that played...First impression good with a chance to improve and play a good Hazard team in a scrimmage next week.

thanks for the update gd friend...

[bucslover68]

No problem Cuppett...

[EKUAlum05]

Your the man bucs...

Who started at the DT's and NG and how did they look out there?

How did Mullins and Ghormley look at LB?

[Belfry0304]

Your the man bucs...

Who started at the DT's and NG and how did they look out there?

How did Mullins and Ghormley look at LB?

Ghormley is out w/ staph infection. Should be back next week.

[Pirate Pal]

Your the man bucs...

Who started at the DT's and NG and how did they look out there?

How did Mullins and Ghormley look at LB?

I don't think Ghormley played tonight. He has been fighting a staph infection on his knee all week. He should be back at practice on Monday and be able to play in the Hazard scrimmage.

[EKUAlum05]

Thanks guys...Ghormley and Mullins should be drastically different players this year now that they are a bit more seasoned. Looking forward to seeing how good they become by season's end.

[cuppett777]

so it sounds like josh is going to be starting at hb instead of dixon,hum...

[cuppett777]

on defense i knew Messer was going to be gd DE

[EKUAlum05]

so it sounds like josh is going to be starting at hb instead of dixon,hum...

People can say what they want about Haywood and his old school ways, but anyone who has followed Belfry the past ten years can see Haywood has been willing to evolve and adapt with the times.

It started with the change from a "big, line plugging" defensive line that has transitioned to a smaller, yet quicker DL early in the 2000's.

When Jones and Howard he went away from the belly option to more of a veer style to maximize their ability to hit the defense quick.

With May and Lee, Haywood went to a "jumbo"backfield much different then a look Belfry has ever shown before.

The wishbone restricts the passing game and the options along with it, so Haywood implemented the "broken gun" at times with Elkins.

Belfry loses to a much faster Central in the finals. Lee and May leave, enter a smaller, quicker backfield and Mr. All Purpose Thomas Varney. Haywood goes away from the belly and uses primarily the flexbone, he also implements the "Thomcat" to maximize touches by Varney.

What I see happening now is the next step required to compete on the level with Central. He has gradually been working towards this since they first met Central. Belfry for years have been an Iron Man football team with the majority of their players playing both ways. Belfry's feeder program is very strong right now and young talent is making it possible for him to really limit the number of 2 way guys. This reduces risk of injury, allows more reps at their natural position, and allows younger guys to gain more experience.

Now you see Williams playing QB only, Dixon playing primarily at S, Runyon primarily at DE, and very few linemen doubling up as starters. If a man goes down they have capable backups, but as it stands now Belfry is maximizing development, minimizing fatigue, and doubling preparation time in practice. In the past an injury could mean Belfry lost both their star QB and their top DB... with platoon football it means you only have to feel half of the impact.

[mr bojangles 007]

very impressed by belfry,s output tonight there defense will get stronger.there offense looked good tonight there o line is coming together very impressed with runnin backs :Thumbs:

[cuppett777]

People can say what they want about Haywood and his old school ways, but anyone who has followed Belfry the past ten years can see Haywood has been willing to evolve and adapt with the times.

It started with the change from a "big, line plugging" defensive line that has transitioned to a smaller, yet quicker DL early in the 2000's.

When Jones and Howard he went away from the belly option to more of a veer style to maximize their ability to hit the defense quick.

With May and Lee, Haywood went to a "jumbo"backfield much different then a look Belfry has ever shown before.

The wishbone restricts the passing game and the options along with it, so Haywood implemented the "broken gun" at times with Elkins.

Belfry loses to a much faster Central in the finals. Lee and May leave, enter a smaller, quicker backfield and Mr. All Purpose Thomas Varney. Haywood goes away from the belly and uses primarily the flexbone, he also implements the "Thomcat" to maximize touches by Varney.

What I see happening now is the next step required to compete on the level with Central. He has gradually been working towards this since they first met Central. Belfry for years have been an Iron Man football team with the majority of their players playing both ways. Belfry's feeder program is very strong right now and young talent is making it possible for him to really limit the number of 2 way guys. This reduces risk of injury, allows more reps at their natural position, and allows younger guys to gain more experience.

Now you see Williams playing QB only, Dixon playing primarily at S, Runyon primarily at DE, and very few linemen doubling up as starters. If a man goes down they have capable backups, but as it stands now Belfry is maximizing development, minimizing fatigue, and doubling preparation time in practice. In the past an injury could mean Belfry lost both their star QB and their top DB... with platoon football it means you only have to feel half of the impact.

good point that i didnt think about, and yes it will make them better...

[PaytoPlay]

I was at the game. A few observations:

Really came away impressed with the defense. They were super stout against the run and the secondary looks very impressive. Runyon and Messer look strong at DE. Ghormley was injured as has been mentioned and a very small replacement played alongside Mullins?

Belfry's running plays consistently gained 5+ yards just on line surge alone. The running backs looked good. Robinson looks great in this uniform and showed some really good speed, but needs to keep improving on his hands. Justin Johnson had some good runs and finished them strong for such a small back. He did get run down from behind by a Boyd defender however on one breakaway. Willis ran hard and well. Seems to have put on some more size over the offseason. Runyon ran well from the FB the couple times he toted it. Depth is excellent with Dixon and Carr.

Both QB's looked good. Williams was right on the money with a couple deeper throws and completed the intermediate stuff also. Warren can really wing it. One one play he hit a wr on the far side of the field with a 5 yard curl and the ball was on him as soon as he looked around.

Noticed the Barnes kid was not dressed? Does he figure into the mix?

[mr bojangles 007]

the only spot on defense that worries me is that one Lb spot in the middle but i heard that the other kid was out with staph infection.heywoods defense will bend but not break it will be hard to run against him.also i heard the johnson kid has been nursing a leg injury and wearing deep cushion in shoes i swear the way he ran the football last night u would not now it. he dominated the boyd defense in just 4 carries willis ran the ball well as did runyon i think the other hb spot is still in the making between dixon and robinson both ran well dixon is quicker and very hard to bring down. i know heywood will scratch his head on this one. but having them both is a very good thing.also sending a shout out to my boys on the o line good jobirateSho

[Belfry Insider]

how did the the OL and DL do?

[Belfry0304]

Bend but don't break. Live by that on defense. They can drive all they want as long as they don't get 6. Belfry has an experienced defense and it is going to be tough to score on. When it comes to facing Central, not all 11 guys have to be as fast as them. If two are them are fast enough to catch them and slow them down enough for 3 others to get them, you're doing good.

Let's not forget, Ace Wales was pretty much nothing up the middle. Young, Mahon, Gibbs, Mullins, and Ghormley gave him nothing. Mostly all of his yards were outside. That's where the Pirates need to improve in both passing and rushing, in the secondary, this season, because truthfully there isn't much else that needs improvement. If we can limit those big pass plays (The Whitley HB pass, Pawsat's deep bomb, Central's deep throw, and PC's entire offense) Belfry will be stout, assuming the secondary can track down a very fast RB like Jude, and Wales.

Worth noting: While Jude did run wild on Belfry last year, he didn't run wild on Josh Dixon. The two probably haven't played each other since 8th grade since Dixon missed last years game in the first season starting, and Jude has played so much varsity since freshman year, I doubt he saw much JV time. Even if they played in 8th grade, both players are drastically different from then. Especially Dixon.

[Belfry0304]

HOWEVER, a defensive line against a passing team is everything to the secondary. No matter how good a corner is, he is going to be WAY better if he only has to cover for 2 seconds, and not 8.

[PaytoPlay]

I can't imagine its set in stone who will end up starting at TB. But after the first scrimmage, Justin Johnson is probably a step closer to be solid in that camp. It does appear that Johnson, Robinson, Dixon and etc will all be solid players. One of them will have to step up and be a home run threat. The good news is Willis will power the offense and we can count on him being consistently good.

[PaytoPlay]

To EKU's earlier point about ironman vs two platoon;

I noticed a lot of platooning last night, specifically

QB - Warren SS - Dixon
TB - Robinson FS - Robinson
TB - Johnson CB - Warren
FB - Willis CB - Thacker
TE - Messer/#81 DE - Messer
T - ? DE - Runyon
G - ? LB - Mullins
C -? LB - Ghormley
G -? DT -
T - ? DT -
WR - Dotson NG -


I don't know the interior lineman who were with the first team last night, so if someone can list them, please to get a better idea of what is what. I went ahead and included Ghormley as a started at LB.

Just on the guys I knew to list, only Messer and Robinson would be starting on both sides of the football. And even Messer had #81 playing quite a bit in there at TE last night. I'm sure a couple of those interior lineman play on both LOS (and if someone could list them, please do) but still, that is a lot of one way players. I for one, like it.

[PaytoPlay]

Where is all the chatter about the Pirates? How did everyone feel about the scrimmage?

[cuppett777]

Where is all the chatter about the Pirates? How did everyone feel about the scrimmage?

theres not enough of it ,lol