[AngryMob]

Belfry didn’t have a great crowd at Central two years ago. Thanksgiving weekend, most folk should be off... hoping for a big crowd. Filled Corbin and Bourbon County way up on Thanksgiving weekend in the past.

[AngryMob]

With that said, I’m not buying this hype that the winner of this game just shows up to Commonwealth next weekend and picks up a trophy... that kind of thinking got Belfry beat against a super athletic Central team who had a few crazy athletes (and Taylor County has that)... the flip side to Taylor, the argument is that Bell hasn’t beaten anyone but they’ve pretty well steamrolled everyone on their schedule and I would guarantee Coach Hilton will have his team ready to go. So I definitely don’t think this is any kind of title game Friday night.

Now considering that, this is a pretty even final 4 and the KHSAA has to be happy with that. I would not be stunned to see any of the 4 teams win the championship. Corbin and Bourbon County were two teams who could legitimately win the whole thing who we traveled to and beat. Desales is no different.

Show up, be loud, and let’s add 2019 to go along with 2003, 2004, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. We’re 3/5 of the way up the Stairway to Seven... it will take 12. 11 on the field and the 12th wearing red in the stands.

[#55PirateFan]

With that said, I’m not buying this hype that the winner of this game just shows up to Commonwealth next weekend and picks up a trophy... that kind of thinking got Belfry beat against a super athletic Central team who had a few crazy athletes (and Taylor County has that)... the flip side to Taylor, the argument is that Bell hasn’t beaten anyone but they’ve pretty well steamrolled everyone on their schedule and I would guarantee Coach Hilton will have his team ready to go. So I definitely don’t think this is any kind of title game Friday night.

Now considering that, this is a pretty even final 4 and the KHSAA has to be happy with that. I would not be stunned to see any of the 4 teams win the championship. Corbin and Bourbon County were two teams who could legitimately win the whole thing who we traveled to and beat. Desales is no different.

Show up, be loud, and let’s add 2019 to go along with 2003, 2004, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. We’re 3/5 of the way up the Stairway to Seven... it will take 12. 11 on the field and the 12th wearing red in the stands.

I agree, any one of the final four teams has a chance at winning the championship. I just said, in my opinion, the champion will be one of the teams playing in Louisville Friday night, Belfry or DeSales. But that's just my opinion. Like I've always said, anything can happen on a Friday night on a football field.

Bell County is undefeated for a reason, their a damn good football team with one of the best coaches to ever walk the sidelines in Kentucky. And Taylor County, well they've made it to the semi's, that's not because their lucky, its because their good enough and won the games they needed to win.

I also agree with you about KHSAA should be happy with how 3A played out. I would say most people would have picked 3 out of the 4 final teams. The exception being Taylor County. Myself, I had Paducah Tighman making the final 4. But Taylor County beat them and could absolutely win the whole dang thing.

Man, I would give anything for Belfry to be able to get #7 this year. Would love to see my boy and the rest of the seniors go out on top. I think they can but we still have a brutal game to play Friday night and no doubt if we win, it will be another tough one in Lexington. Hope all the stars align and it's meant to be. But for now, we just need to focus on that monster waiting on us out in Louisville in a couple days. Be safe traveling if your going to make the trip. Hope to see you there cheering on the Pirates!

[#55PirateFan]

I agree. It was surprising on both sides. I’ve been to games earlier in the season and it was way more packed on our side. You can bet one thing to be true and that’s we will show up in Louisville. It’s crazy lol

Yeah, I was shocked at our turnout as well. We had a decent crowd but not what you'd expect at a regional championship game, against Ashland at that. A team that has owned the Pirates, record wise. They missed a great showing from our Pirates if they weren't there.

Be honest, a couple times this year Belfry's bleachers have been a little "light". Dont know what's up with that. Seems like some in the community have lost interest. I guess that run of 4 straight championships spoiled some folks and now that we hit a dry spell, they lost interest. Which is sad, in my opinion.

[AtlPirateFan]

Yeah, I was shocked at our turnout as well. We had a decent crowd but not what you'd expect at a regional championship game, against Ashland at that. A team that has owned the Pirates, record wise. They missed a great showing from our Pirates if they weren't there.

Be honest, a couple times this year Belfry's bleachers have been a little "light". Dont know what's up with that. Seems like some in the community have lost interest. I guess that run of 4 straight championships spoiled some folks and now that we hit a dry spell, they lost interest. Which is sad, in my opinion.

A lot of the problem is that many of the die-hards are so far away now, ecomomic situation of the area has driven us away. EKUAlum and I are two that I know for sure are tuned into Coach Mick and Bobby almost every Friday night from way down here in the Peach State. Regardless of how the season is going, regardless of what I am doing I am listening. (Halloween night a few years ago I was walking my kids around our neighborhood with one earbud in listening to a Belfry-JC game.) I don't watch NFL or NCAA, my only football passion lies in Bluegrass. To me, high school football is the purest form of the sport and it's what I enjoy 10-15 weeks a year. Unfortunately, the boys on the field can't see the MASSIVE amount of us who are tuned in from afar, but I hope they know we are here.

[AtlPirateFan]

I will also say if I was still in the area my family and I would be loaded up and headed to Louisville on Friday. I hope the fan base can be motivated to make the trip.

[Hound05]

Belfry didn’t have a great crowd at Central two years ago. Thanksgiving weekend, most folk should be off... hoping for a big crowd. Filled Corbin and Bourbon County way up on Thanksgiving weekend in the past.

We brought extra seating in that year. It still filled up! Both sides!! Thag was probably the biggest crowd I’ve seen there. Boyle corbin was second.

[bucslover68]

Belfry will have a good crowd. Maybe not the biggest they have taken on the road, but a good crowd. 4 plus hours on a holiday weekend is tough and Louisville is just a tough place to get excited about going to. With a rainy forecast....who knows.

[AvoidLloyd]

Ignore the distractions; Just study the Meade County film, play your game and not the game DeSales wants you to play, and you will be fine. You just have to neutralize their defensive penetration. The only weakness I saw was their secondary seemed a step slow. Meade County won the game with less than 200 yards of offense but also had 3 picks against DeSales.

2 of those picks by my son lol :1:

[AvoidLloyd]

What's to defend? The reason their not speaking up is what's being said is true.

I have a real good friend that lives just a couple miles from DeSales and he sends his kids to Waggner. He told me it's a mess. And what's being said is facts and before its over something extremely bad and violent is going to happen.

So dont tell me to relax that everything will be ok that its probably just a couple of heckling fans. My son is on this team, and many others have sons and daughters on this team. Damn right I'm going to pay attention to the signs and warnings.

U leave my guy Tommy M out of this lol

[Colt Fan]

Also, one quick point about the coaching staff. Coach Scroggins is the offensive coordinator. He is not running the defense. We love Coach Scroggins. He has been a huge asset. But there's a name that has not yet been mentioned in seven pages of comments. Harold Davis is the head coach, and he won two state titles while Coach Scroggins was battling the Pirates seemingly every year in the state championship. Coach Davis runs the defense, always has. Desales has always been defense first, but Coach Scroggins has implemented a new and more dynamic offense. The two of them are a rare breed. Coach Scroggins has four state championships and was willing to come in as an assistant coach. Coach Davis was confident enough to bring in a highly successful head coach as part of the staff without feeling threatened or territorial. The two together are quite a tandem.

[EKUAlum05]

I made an account just to say something. Every single fan base has their bad apples. I don’t know where the 9 year old child being hospitalized came from because I’ve been to every game and have never heard anything about it. I can’t promise you that a fan might irritate you but I can promise you that you don’t have to fear for your life. Coach Scroggins has so much respect for the Belfrey community so please trust him when he says you have nothing to worry about. My son played on our 2 state championship teams and the second year we had the privilege of staying at the same hotel as some of the Belfrey parents in Bowling Green and I have nothing but good things to say about Belfrey. The first year the two teams both ate dinner at the same restaurant and I was told there was a lot of respect between the teams wishing each other luck in their championship games. With that being said, I am extremely excited to have a program with Belfrey’s prestige and tradition come to DeSales. I think this will be a smash-mouth, low scoring game that screams play-off football! I wish all the Belfrey fans safe travels and look forward to a great game.

Great sportsmanship... I am thinking this whole talk of safety was blown way out of proportion and get the sense if someone tries something Scroggins may personally take care of the issue.

Him and Haywood have as much respect for each other as anyone.

Good luck to DeSales as they prepare this week.

[Hound05]

With that said, I’m not buying this hype that the winner of this game just shows up to Commonwealth next weekend and picks up a trophy... that kind of thinking got Belfry beat against a super athletic Central team who had a few crazy athletes (and Taylor County has that)... the flip side to Taylor, the argument is that Bell hasn’t beaten anyone but they’ve pretty well steamrolled everyone on their schedule and I would guarantee Coach Hilton will have his team ready to go. So I definitely don’t think this is any kind of title game Friday night.

Now considering that, this is a pretty even final 4 and the KHSAA has to be happy with that. I would not be stunned to see any of the 4 teams win the championship. Corbin and Bourbon County were two teams who could legitimately win the whole thing who we traveled to and beat. Desales is no different.

Show up, be loud, and let’s add 2019 to go along with 2003, 2004, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. We’re 3/5 of the way up the Stairway to Seven... it will take 12. 11 on the field and the 12th wearing red in the stands.

To be fair, outside of trinity, that team could have traveled anywhere and beat anyone.

[BellCo18]

Yes, Coach Scroggins is at DeSales. And I agree, I think the winner of this game will, in the end, be the 2019 3A State Champs.

Just glad Bell Co didn’t get beat by a 4-7 team like DeSales did a few weeks back. gotta win the games your suppose too.

[OutlawJoseyWales]

Just glad Bell Co didn’t get beat by a 4-7 team like DeSales did a few weeks back. gotta win the games your suppose too.

All this talk about the “winner of this game” business......is PLAIN FOOLISH. I know the Belfry kids are focused on one game, and one game alone. This game is gonna be a battle royale. IMO, DeSales is the favorite. Higher RPI, they’ve played a decent schedule, got plenty of athletes, at home, etc etc.

I do think this Belfry team can be successful, but we’ll need to play our best game to date, and also create a few turnovers and limit our own. Big thing will be this.....Belfry cannot consistency be behind the chains. Their offense is predicated on 3-4 yards a pop.

Should be interesting.

[AvoidLloyd]

Just glad Bell Co didn’t get beat by a 4-7 team like DeSales did a few weeks back. gotta win the games your suppose too.

We would have beaten Bell a lot worse

Dont let that 4-7 fool you. We were injured all year.

[BellCo18]

We would have beaten Bell a lot worse

Dont let that 4-7 fool you. We were injured all year.

Yeah boy! Bell also had some starters out through the year. Part of football. But we still won the games we were suppose too.

[BellCo18]

All this talk about the “winner of this game” business......is PLAIN FOOLISH. I know the Belfry kids are focused on one game, and one game alone. This game is gonna be a battle royale. IMO, DeSales is the favorite. Higher RPI, they’ve played a decent schedule, got plenty of athletes, at home, etc etc.

I do think this Belfry team can be successful, but we’ll need to play our best game to date, and also create a few turnovers and limit our own. Big thing will be this.....Belfry cannot consistency be behind the chains. Their offense is predicated on 3-4 yards a pop.

Should be interesting.

Bell Co/Belfry State Championship Game. 2 power football teams that are set up for smash mouth football. Will be a great one at Kroger Field hopefully.

[Granny Bear]

You are looking way too far in the future! Both Belfry and Bell must get through THIS Friday night first.

[Mother Teresa]

Anyone know if the bleachers are handicap accessible

[ColtPride]

Anyone know if the bleachers are handicap accessible

Yes. They are.

[DCPFB]

Being someone who is closely related to DeSales and the football program. Let me assure you, you are completely safe at all sporting events. We have had issues in the past with a team in our district and their former coach. Which has lead us to increase the safety for each team and allow them to be away from each fan base. We do only have one side of bleachers, but they are large and are sectioned off for a home side and a visitor side. The middle has reserved chair back seats, with limited availability of bleachers in the front.
Let me explain some procedures that will insure the students are safe. The teams enter and exit the field from different ends. Each enter by their respected fan base. There is security at each entrance and exit of bleachers, if you feel like you need them, please feel free. You do not even have to get close to the other fan base if you choose. You may enter and exit bleachers without even passing in front of each other. The only interaction might be at the concession stand and restrooms. The biggest issue we have had is people standing on the front railing, which is not permissible.
Lastly, I would like to explain what happened last week because I witnessed everything that occurred based on my location in the stadium. There was a thread that had started based on the opponents the week before the Bardstown game, which warned the Bardstown fans DeSales fans are terrible. Which seems to be happening here as well. That school and DeSales do not get a long. So before the Bardstown game even started there was tension between the two fan bases. There was one altercation between a DeSales fan and Bardstown fan, that was dealt with by the Sheriffs, one of who I know personally. While they were being removed for the stadium, yes both, the Bardstown principal grabbed the sheriff and said he wasn't taking him out. So the sheriff that was was grabbed and did not like that, escorted the principal out as well. DeSales has ejected their own fans before in multiple sports. The DeSales student section even has school officials who police them about what they say and do. The issue with the coach who was involved with the other coach has been handled internally. Just like all fan bases I am sure we have our fans who bring down the pride of our school, who care more about their own kid then the team. I apologize for those fans. That is not who DeSales is or who they want to be. If you really do have an issue with a fan, please alert security and they will be in touch with the right people to get the issue fixed. That goes for DeSales and Belfry fans.
DeSales is proud of our stadium since we did not have a home field for 60+ years and had to travel even for home games. Based on size and the layout, it is unfortunate that we only have one side, but there have never been serious issues in the past since our last two games, which seemed to make the thread.
We welcome all Belfry fans and hope to make it an amazing memorial Friday night for both schools. I hope you all have safe travels and a great Thanksgiving!

[OutlawJoseyWales]

You are looking way too far in the future! Both Belfry and Bell must get through THIS Friday night first.

Granny.....I agree wholeheartedly. I can promise you this....The Belfry kids, coaches and fanbase will not be overlooking anyone...

It's way too tough to get to this spot....so focus is paramount. Coach Haywood does a great job in keeping the kids grounded and in a consistent routine. Unfortunately, the drive to Louisville is unavoidable. :biggrin:

Would have preferred this game on Pond Creek:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

[BobcatForever]

You are looking way too far in the future! Both Belfry and Bell must get through THIS Friday night first.

Not All Fans are looking down the road Granny Most knows its One Game At A Time!!!:1:

[Granny Bear]

DCPFB.....such a classy post!!! Hope this makes everyone feel a little better. I did for me!!


Josey, had it been on Pond Creek, I would've made that drive!!!


Good luck teams!!

[Granny Bear]

Not All Fans are looking down the road Granny Most knows its One Game At A Time!!!:1:

Honey, I KNOW you weren't looking past Taylor. You're way too old and wise to do that one!!!

[#55PirateFan]

U leave my guy Tommy M out of this lol

Not talking about T.M.

[#55PirateFan]

Nobody said anything about teams overlooking other teams. Is this not what this site is about? People giving their opinion? If somebody thinks this team or that team is moving on, its their opinion. Doesn't mean anybody is overlooking anybody. Come on guys, I assume that's why BGR was created. To have discussions, opinions, and projections. Myself and BellCo18 are just giving our opinion, if you don't agree, scroll past it and move on.

[Lord Grantham]

I have spoken with a Desales insider whom I trust and he has assured me that significant action was taken over the weekend to ensure their fan base is controlled. His word is good enough for me. Based upon that, I will say no more about the matter, and trust everyone will have an enjoyable semistate game Friday night. While I know that the public statements (including from Scoggins) are that I have “blown this out of proportion,” privately Desales brass are very concerned, and if that is what it took to address the issues then I am satisfied. The taking down of the various posts on the Desales Colts Football FB page and the silence of prior posters in this thread should tell everyone that Desales is acting behind the scenes.

Sound like 2 great teams, should be a physical, electric high school football contest.

[ColtPride]

I know Belfry has a great running attack. But if there was ever a team built to negate that it would be this DeSales defense. They're front seven are really aggressive and quick to the ball. From the games I've seen from Belfry, they're secondary can be attacked. DeSales ran a empty backfield look for most of the game against CAL, which was very successful. Reputations are hard to get rid of sometimes, and the rep that DeSales won't throw the football just isn't true. They will toss it around the field. i think that will be the difference in this game. Throw it to set up the run. Again I like the size, athleticism, and physicality of both teams. I think the speed advantage goes to the Colts. The home field advantage obviously Colts. I also like the coaching advantage. I know you guys have a really good one on the sideline, however we have 2 really good ones, and one of them knows Belfry pretty good.
I just don't see Belfry being able to run the ball (enough) which is the key word on this defense to beat us at home. I like the home field advantage that much in this match up. If the game was at Belfry I'd definitely take the Pirates.