[RTruth]

True.

Belfry goes 7-3 or 8-2.

Losses to Pikeville, JC, and maybe Breathitt.

Breathitt doesn’t have a QB but returns a whole lot.

GRC is a wild card though.

[jetpilot]

My next and final non football question.

How does Hagy and Deskins react to the kids that are still there when they know they are basically fired when Mr. Gannon retires?

You have commented about 5 times about "going back to football" but yet keep returning. Like everyone else in the United States we are all wondering what apparently will happen at Belfry. Why be so concerned with it and what is happening over there, I thought you was Pikeville? It's very clear you have something against a few people over there because it is constantly brought up in your posts. The bottom line is, none of us are principal, none of us are the superintendent (who will hire the next principal), so why do we care, especially if not from the school. I could care less what Hagy, Deskins, Gannon, Haywood, Jones, or Obama are doing but dang this thread is suppose to be about BELFRY FOOTBALL. I say go knock on the doors and voice the opinions if so concerned, it gets annoying trying to read how a team is looking in practice or what season will look like and people just want to act like babies and cry about every issue on this side of the mississippi. Hell make a stop at Prestonsburg, Jenkins, and Piarist and every other school that is having so many problems and see if we can get all schools fixed and be perfect, because this is a perfect world right? We play Belfry week 3 and I just want to know what the offensive and defensive line will look like and see how bad we going to pound them all. End of rant, I am just ready for some dang EAGLE FOOTBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is Belfry football thread. Start a JC vs Belfry thread or don't click on this thread if you aren't interested in Belfry program overall. Takes a lot for me to take up for Belfry but you come across as an obnoxious d bag on this thread

[pirateforlife]

Belfry will be much better than people believe. I seen so many post on social media about how bad they’ll be. They lost 3 kids to transfers. 2 to Mingo and 1 to Pikeville. They return the entire backfield and 3 of the starting lineman. Defense will be a question but I think they’ll be ok. I know if I was a player this year I’d have some extra motivation every time I stepped on the field due to the fact everyone is counting us out before the season even starts.

[jchseaglefan1976]

My next and final non football question.

How does Hagy and Deskins react to the kids that are still there when they know they are basically fired when Mr. Gannon retires?

You have commented about 5 times about "going back to football" but yet keep returning. Like everyone else in the United States we are all wondering what apparently will happen at Belfry. Why be so concerned with it and what is happening over there, I thought you was Pikeville? It's very clear you have something against a few people over there because it is constantly brought up in your posts. The bottom line is, none of us are principal, none of us are the superintendent (who will hire the next principal), so why do we care, especially if not from the school. I could care less what Hagy, Deskins, Gannon, Haywood, Jones, or Obama are doing but dang this thread is suppose to be about BELFRY FOOTBALL. I say go knock on the doors and voice the opinions if so concerned, it gets annoying trying to read how a team is looking in practice or what season will look like and people just want to act like babies and cry about every issue on this side of the mississippi. Hell make a stop at Prestonsburg, Jenkins, and Piarist and every other school that is having so many problems and see if we can get all schools fixed and be perfect, because this is a perfect world right? We play Belfry week 3 and I just want to know what the offensive and defensive line will look like and see how bad we going to pound them all. End of rant, I am just ready for some dang EAGLE FOOTBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is Belfry football thread. Start a JC vs Belfry thread or don't click on this thread if you aren't interested in Belfry program overall. Takes a lot for me to take up for Belfry but you come across as an obnoxious d bag on this thread

Not meaning too, just hate reading about baseball and basketball in the Belfry football thread. Trust me, I am with you on taking up for Belfry but I just like to read what the thread is about.

---

True.

Belfry goes 7-3 or 8-2.

Losses to Pikeville, JC, and maybe Breathitt.

Breathitt doesn’t have a QB but returns a whole lot.

GRC is a wild card though.

Didn't Breathitt get a transfer in? I thought I seen that but I am probably wrong on that. GRC is a big school, but I have no idea anything on them other than the coach there was at this place down the road from us. I think they improve from the 6-6 but like you said, probably the 7-3.

---

Belfry will be much better than people believe. I seen so many post on social media about how bad they’ll be. They lost 3 kids to transfers. 2 to Mingo and 1 to Pikeville. They return the entire backfield and 3 of the starting lineman. Defense will be a question but I think they’ll be ok. I know if I was a player this year I’d have some extra motivation every time I stepped on the field due to the fact everyone is counting us out before the season even starts.

Seems like it could be how it was when they won that last state title then. Didn't they start 0-5 with people saying they wouldn't get out of the 1st round. The QB and backfield worries me, always strong and quick.

[jetpilot]

My next and final non football question.

How does Hagy and Deskins react to the kids that are still there when they know they are basically fired when Mr. Gannon retires?

You have commented about 5 times about "going back to football" but yet keep returning. Like everyone else in the United States we are all wondering what apparently will happen at Belfry. Why be so concerned with it and what is happening over there, I thought you was Pikeville? It's very clear you have something against a few people over there because it is constantly brought up in your posts. The bottom line is, none of us are principal, none of us are the superintendent (who will hire the next principal), so why do we care, especially if not from the school. I could care less what Hagy, Deskins, Gannon, Haywood, Jones, or Obama are doing but dang this thread is suppose to be about BELFRY FOOTBALL. I say go knock on the doors and voice the opinions if so concerned, it gets annoying trying to read how a team is looking in practice or what season will look like and people just want to act like babies and cry about every issue on this side of the mississippi. Hell make a stop at Prestonsburg, Jenkins, and Piarist and every other school that is having so many problems and see if we can get all schools fixed and be perfect, because this is a perfect world right? We play Belfry week 3 and I just want to know what the offensive and defensive line will look like and see how bad we going to pound them all. End of rant, I am just ready for some dang EAGLE FOOTBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is Belfry football thread. Start a JC vs Belfry thread or don't click on this thread if you aren't interested in Belfry program overall. Takes a lot for me to take up for Belfry but you come across as an obnoxious d bag on this thread

Not meaning too, just hate reading about baseball and basketball in the Belfry football thread. Trust me, I am with you on taking up for Belfry but I just like to read what the thread is about.

It's all good. Belfry football has serious issues which involve all sports and are 1000x bigger than any one game. I never want to lose to them but Belfry football being great is a huge part of mountain football being great, and discussion on how to fix things there is understandably top priority. I want them to lose to Pikeville by 50 every year and then win another championship lol

[Khalisimo]

addressing practice the team looks good and dont seem defeated by the drama at all if anything it seems to have motivated a lot of them big strong offensive line and a good backfield looks like deskins and varney are going to catch some passes maybe not as skilled as burke but good quickness for wide receivers. on defense there are positions to be had for whoever brings a lunch pail to practice the next couple of weeks thats where the slow start will be but offense should be much improved

if u look back at belfry football you will see every qb makes big jumps year to year in the system going back as far as i can remember you will see chase make a leap this year and by playoff time be really coming into his own WATCH OUT in 2024 and 2025

as for a freshman remember the name jb woolum i believe he will be a game one starter based on what i saw this week

[EKUAlum05]

A few thoughts:


1. Belfry's staff has proven that they are devoted to trying to get their kids names out there and get them the chance to continue playing football. There is probably no other program in EKY history that has sent more players to the D-1 level in a ten year stretch then Belfry did and probably no school in Eastern Kentucky history that sent players to have a chance to play collegiately on the whole like Belfry has in that window.

2. With that said, the criticism is not that Belfry isn't making the effort to get their kids noticed, it is that Belfry's persona is outdated and to that I agree. Pikeville has marketed their program as well as anyone in Kentucky in two ways. One is via the "hip" factor of social media, uniform launches, and multimedia technology (shoutout to Panther Thunder who has played a big role in this). The other is by investing in facilities (training, practice, and locker room) that also market themselves.

As I said earlier in this thread, Pikeville has accumulated and used money better than Belfry (and for that matter almost everyone in KY). Anyone who works in business management these days knows, and this is not a negative or criticism, but the mindset of the younger generation is completely different than the mindset of even the millennials or Gen Z folks. Whether it is work or practice, you have to market to that generation a different way and the landscape of the world has changed with technological advancements.

To be blunt.. Belfry is behind... way behind.... in that capacity. Belfry already has a narrative to overcome that they play "old school", outdated, and borderline boring football ( I disagree but we are talking perception). When your marketing and facilities game is also trialing behind it doesn't help especially if they are already starting from behind due to perspective.


3. On the David Jones subject. This shouldn't surprise anyone. Jones clearly had his eyes on being a Head Coach and has did what he could to do just that including a tenure in purgatory at Phelps to get his foot in the door. Jones has has taken over schools and upgraded the talent by the means necessary at every location and he is doing the same now. Belfry knew this day would come, it is just he has came back right in the middle of the eye of the storm. As jetpilot said, Mingo Central won't be a factor if you do what you do and win.

There is a reason the first thing Jones does is talk about wanting back in the Pike County Bowl. Mingo Central can win the next three State Titles and the consensus will still be they are a "less than" program to Belfry and Pikeville. West Virginia small school football is just very weak and when Mingo Central played Pikeville after winning a title they got ran off the field. As long as Mingo Central is kept as a secondary tier program and as long as Belfry and Pikeville continue to play for titles then Jones will always just be looking to pick off disgruntled players or block families who may try to relocate to Belfry or Pikeville at the feeder level. That's a lot of effort because he has to actively fight and keep his teams as a dominant force across the river just to play defense against the two powerhouses in the Bluegrass State. It's doubtful that is a sustainable endeavor as Jones has not proven capable of anything other than beating lower competition in the regular season to this point.

4. It's a bad situation, but the sky hasn't fell yet. It's time for a wake up though. Belfry still has a load of talent if they can keep it from leaving. Some of the talent that has left could foreseeably come back in a year as well. Don't burn the bridges.. understand why they left and what needs to change. The football program has overcome big hurdles before. They needed a weight training complex so they built one. They needed better facilities so they got them. They needed a youth system consolation and overhaul so they did it. They needed to play better competition other than regional teams in Middle School so they did it. The High School needed to set bigger goals so they did it.

What I do know is right now the Belfry football staff isn't crying "whoa is me" and sulking. The problem is this latest issues are bigger than just them. It's going to require organization, pressure, and not just change but innovation.

5. The very first thing this wakeup call should teach Belfry is to get their ducks in a row in terms of financials and boosters. I dont know what the pivots are that are about to occur... but most pivots need money to fund them. The latest turf fundraising and subsequent "drama" that has played out shows that Belfry has to get a better plan and a better organization to what it takes to get that fundraising train organized and generating additional revenue streams. Times have changed. You used to be able to throw a rock in the stands and hit someone with capital that ran a coal mine, part of the railroad, or something associated with the coal industry who had a checkbook that they could open. Money may still be out there, but it is going to take a lot more effort and organization to generate it.

[pirateforlife]

A few thoughts:


1. Belfry's staff has proven that they are devoted to trying to get their kids names out there and get them the chance to continue playing football. There is probably no other program in EKY history that has sent more players to the D-1 level in a ten year stretch then Belfry did and probably no school in Eastern Kentucky history that sent players to have a chance to play collegiately on the whole like Belfry has in that window.

2. With that said, the criticism is not that Belfry isn't making the effort to get their kids noticed, it is that Belfry's persona is outdated and to that I agree. Pikeville has marketed their program as well as anyone in Kentucky in two ways. One is via the "hip" factor of social media, uniform launches, and multimedia technology (shoutout to Panther Thunder who has played a big role in this). The other is by investing in facilities (training, practice, and locker room) that also market themselves.

As I said earlier in this thread, Pikeville has accumulated and used money better than Belfry (and for that matter almost everyone in KY). Anyone who works in business management these days knows, and this is not a negative or criticism, but the mindset of the younger generation is completely different than the mindset of even the millennials or Gen Z folks. Whether it is work or practice, you have to market to that generation a different way and the landscape of the world has changed with technological advancements.

To be blunt.. Belfry is behind... way behind.... in that capacity. Belfry already has a narrative to overcome that they play "old school", outdated, and borderline boring football ( I disagree but we are talking perception). When your marketing and facilities game is also trialing behind it doesn't help especially if they are already starting from behind due to perspective.


3. On the David Jones subject. This shouldn't surprise anyone. Jones clearly had his eyes on being a Head Coach and has did what he could to do just that including a tenure in purgatory at Phelps to get his foot in the door. Jones has has taken over schools and upgraded the talent by the means necessary at every location and he is doing the same now. Belfry knew this day would come, it is just he has came back right in the middle of the eye of the storm.  As jetpilot said, Mingo Central won't be a factor if you do what you do and win.

There is a reason the first thing Jones does is talk about wanting back in the Pike County Bowl.  Mingo Central can win the next three State Titles and the consensus will still be they are a "less than" program to Belfry and Pikeville. West Virginia small school football is just very weak and when Mingo Central played Pikeville after winning a title they got ran off the field.  As long as Mingo Central is kept as a secondary tier program and as long as Belfry and Pikeville continue to play for titles then Jones will always just be looking to pick off disgruntled players or block families who may try to relocate to Belfry or Pikeville at the feeder level. That's a lot of effort because he has to actively fight and keep his teams as a dominant force across the river just to play defense against the two powerhouses in the Bluegrass State. It's doubtful that is a sustainable endeavor as Jones has not proven capable of anything other than beating lower competition in the regular season to this point.

4. It's a bad situation, but the sky hasn't fell yet. It's time for a wake up though. Belfry still has a load of talent if they can keep it from leaving. Some of the talent that has left could foreseeably come back in a year as well. Don't burn the bridges.. understand why they left and what needs to change. The football program has overcome big hurdles before. They needed a weight training complex so they built one. They needed better facilities so they got them. They needed a youth system consolation and overhaul so they did it. They needed to play better competition other than regional teams in Middle School so they did it. The High School needed to set bigger goals so they did it.

What I do know is right now the Belfry football staff isn't crying "whoa is me" and sulking. The problem is this latest issues are bigger than just them. It's going to require organization, pressure, and not just change but innovation.

5. The very first thing this wakeup call should teach Belfry is to get their ducks in a row in terms of financials and boosters. I dont know what the pivots are that are about to occur... but most pivots need money to fund them. The latest turf fundraising and subsequent "drama" that has played out shows that Belfry has to get a better plan and a better organization to what it takes to get that fundraising train organized and generating additional revenue streams. Times have changed. You used to be able to throw a rock in the stands and hit someone with capital that ran a coal mine, part of the railroad, or something associated with the coal industry who had a checkbook that they could open. Money may still be out there, but it is going to take a lot more effort and organization to generate it.

Regarding thought number 2. I do agree but the younger coaches on the staff at BHS have done a better job with the social media aspect of things. Gary Runyon does a good job at it and Belfry finally went to Nike uniforms not too long ago and got a brand new uniform that had its own video unveiling. I think Belfry will be fine this season and wouldn’t surprise me to see them beat Pikeville. Pikeville graduated a lot of really good football players who many had started for 3 seasons. David will get a couple here and there to Mingo but anyone with any knowledge knows WV high school football and KY high school football is completely different when it’s comes to competition. How many kids in the last 10 years from any WV high school has had a D1 scholarship out of high school and stayed at that school longer than 2 years?

[EKUAlum05]

A few thoughts:


1. Belfry's staff has proven that they are devoted to trying to get their kids names out there and get them the chance to continue playing football. There is probably no other program in EKY history that has sent more players to the D-1 level in a ten year stretch then Belfry did and probably no school in Eastern Kentucky history that sent players to have a chance to play collegiately on the whole like Belfry has in that window.

2. With that said, the criticism is not that Belfry isn't making the effort to get their kids noticed, it is that Belfry's persona is outdated and to that I agree. Pikeville has marketed their program as well as anyone in Kentucky in two ways. One is via the "hip" factor of social media, uniform launches, and multimedia technology (shoutout to Panther Thunder who has played a big role in this). The other is by investing in facilities (training, practice, and locker room) that also market themselves.

As I said earlier in this thread, Pikeville has accumulated and used money better than Belfry (and for that matter almost everyone in KY). Anyone who works in business management these days knows, and this is not a negative or criticism, but the mindset of the younger generation is completely different than the mindset of even the millennials or Gen Z folks. Whether it is work or practice, you have to market to that generation a different way and the landscape of the world has changed with technological advancements.

To be blunt.. Belfry is behind... way behind.... in that capacity. Belfry already has a narrative to overcome that they play "old school", outdated, and borderline boring football ( I disagree but we are talking perception). When your marketing and facilities game is also trialing behind it doesn't help especially if they are already starting from behind due to perspective.


3. On the David Jones subject. This shouldn't surprise anyone. Jones clearly had his eyes on being a Head Coach and has did what he could to do just that including a tenure in purgatory at Phelps to get his foot in the door. Jones has has taken over schools and upgraded the talent by the means necessary at every location and he is doing the same now. Belfry knew this day would come, it is just he has came back right in the middle of the eye of the storm.  As jetpilot said, Mingo Central won't be a factor if you do what you do and win.

There is a reason the first thing Jones does is talk about wanting back in the Pike County Bowl.  Mingo Central can win the next three State Titles and the consensus will still be they are a "less than" program to Belfry and Pikeville. West Virginia small school football is just very weak and when Mingo Central played Pikeville after winning a title they got ran off the field.  As long as Mingo Central is kept as a secondary tier program and as long as Belfry and Pikeville continue to play for titles then Jones will always just be looking to pick off disgruntled players or block families who may try to relocate to Belfry or Pikeville at the feeder level. That's a lot of effort because he has to actively fight and keep his teams as a dominant force across the river just to play defense against the two powerhouses in the Bluegrass State. It's doubtful that is a sustainable endeavor as Jones has not proven capable of anything other than beating lower competition in the regular season to this point.

4. It's a bad situation, but the sky hasn't fell yet. It's time for a wake up though. Belfry still has a load of talent if they can keep it from leaving. Some of the talent that has left could foreseeably come back in a year as well. Don't burn the bridges.. understand why they left and what needs to change. The football program has overcome big hurdles before. They needed a weight training complex so they built one. They needed better facilities so they got them. They needed a youth system consolation and overhaul so they did it. They needed to play better competition other than regional teams in Middle School so they did it. The High School needed to set bigger goals so they did it.

What I do know is right now the Belfry football staff isn't crying "whoa is me" and sulking. The problem is this latest issues are bigger than just them. It's going to require organization, pressure, and not just change but innovation.

5. The very first thing this wakeup call should teach Belfry is to get their ducks in a row in terms of financials and boosters. I dont know what the pivots are that are about to occur... but most pivots need money to fund them. The latest turf fundraising and subsequent "drama" that has played out shows that Belfry has to get a better plan and a better organization to what it takes to get that fundraising train organized and generating additional revenue streams. Times have changed. You used to be able to throw a rock in the stands and hit someone with capital that ran a coal mine, part of the railroad, or something associated with the coal industry who had a checkbook that they could open. Money may still be out there, but it is going to take a lot more effort and organization to generate it.

Regarding thought number 2. I do agree but the younger coaches on the staff at BHS have done a better job with the social media aspect of things. Gary Runyon does a good job at it and Belfry finally went to Nike uniforms not too long ago and got a brand new uniform that had its own video unveiling. I think Belfry will be fine this season and wouldn’t surprise me to see them beat Pikeville. Pikeville graduated a lot of really good football players who many had started for 3 seasons. David will get a couple here and there to Mingo but anyone with any knowledge knows WV high school football and KY high school football is completely different when it’s comes to competition. How many kids in the last 10 years from any WV high school has had a D1 scholarship out of high school and stayed at that school longer than 2 years?

Sadly, this is par for the course for Appalachia in general though.

I wont throw that rock in a glass house. Belfry has had success stories, more than most .. Cole, Big A, and David Jones specifically. Belfry has also had probably had 200% + more guys who went to a D-1 school to not end up there in two years. A couple of those stories were sad like Ray Horton and Cameron Catron.. both guys I think would have played all four years as well.... but for each of those stories you have guys who either went from D-1 to a much lower level or just quit playing football entirely. This has been a problem with Appalachian athletes for decades.

[pirateforlife]

A few thoughts:


1. Belfry's staff has proven that they are devoted to trying to get their kids names out there and get them the chance to continue playing football. There is probably no other program in EKY history that has sent more players to the D-1 level in a ten year stretch then Belfry did and probably no school in Eastern Kentucky history that sent players to have a chance to play collegiately on the whole like Belfry has in that window.

2. With that said, the criticism is not that Belfry isn't making the effort to get their kids noticed, it is that Belfry's persona is outdated and to that I agree. Pikeville has marketed their program as well as anyone in Kentucky in two ways. One is via the "hip" factor of social media, uniform launches, and multimedia technology (shoutout to Panther Thunder who has played a big role in this). The other is by investing in facilities (training, practice, and locker room) that also market themselves.

As I said earlier in this thread, Pikeville has accumulated and used money better than Belfry (and for that matter almost everyone in KY). Anyone who works in business management these days knows, and this is not a negative or criticism, but the mindset of the younger generation is completely different than the mindset of even the millennials or Gen Z folks. Whether it is work or practice, you have to market to that generation a different way and the landscape of the world has changed with technological advancements.

To be blunt.. Belfry is behind... way behind.... in that capacity. Belfry already has a narrative to overcome that they play "old school", outdated, and borderline boring football ( I disagree but we are talking perception). When your marketing and facilities game is also trialing behind it doesn't help especially if they are already starting from behind due to perspective.


3. On the David Jones subject. This shouldn't surprise anyone. Jones clearly had his eyes on being a Head Coach and has did what he could to do just that including a tenure in purgatory at Phelps to get his foot in the door. Jones has has taken over schools and upgraded the talent by the means necessary at every location and he is doing the same now. Belfry knew this day would come, it is just he has came back right in the middle of the eye of the storm.  As jetpilot said, Mingo Central won't be a factor if you do what you do and win.

There is a reason the first thing Jones does is talk about wanting back in the Pike County Bowl.  Mingo Central can win the next three State Titles and the consensus will still be they are a "less than" program to Belfry and Pikeville. West Virginia small school football is just very weak and when Mingo Central played Pikeville after winning a title they got ran off the field.  As long as Mingo Central is kept as a secondary tier program and as long as Belfry and Pikeville continue to play for titles then Jones will always just be looking to pick off disgruntled players or block families who may try to relocate to Belfry or Pikeville at the feeder level. That's a lot of effort because he has to actively fight and keep his teams as a dominant force across the river just to play defense against the two powerhouses in the Bluegrass State. It's doubtful that is a sustainable endeavor as Jones has not proven capable of anything other than beating lower competition in the regular season to this point.

4. It's a bad situation, but the sky hasn't fell yet. It's time for a wake up though. Belfry still has a load of talent if they can keep it from leaving. Some of the talent that has left could foreseeably come back in a year as well. Don't burn the bridges.. understand why they left and what needs to change. The football program has overcome big hurdles before. They needed a weight training complex so they built one. They needed better facilities so they got them. They needed a youth system consolation and overhaul so they did it. They needed to play better competition other than regional teams in Middle School so they did it. The High School needed to set bigger goals so they did it.

What I do know is right now the Belfry football staff isn't crying "whoa is me" and sulking. The problem is this latest issues are bigger than just them. It's going to require organization, pressure, and not just change but innovation.

5. The very first thing this wakeup call should teach Belfry is to get their ducks in a row in terms of financials and boosters. I dont know what the pivots are that are about to occur... but most pivots need money to fund them. The latest turf fundraising and subsequent "drama" that has played out shows that Belfry has to get a better plan and a better organization to what it takes to get that fundraising train organized and generating additional revenue streams. Times have changed. You used to be able to throw a rock in the stands and hit someone with capital that ran a coal mine, part of the railroad, or something associated with the coal industry who had a checkbook that they could open. Money may still be out there, but it is going to take a lot more effort and organization to generate it.

Regarding thought number 2. I do agree but the younger coaches on the staff at BHS have done a better job with the social media aspect of things. Gary Runyon does a good job at it and Belfry finally went to Nike uniforms not too long ago and got a brand new uniform that had its own video unveiling. I think Belfry will be fine this season and wouldn’t surprise me to see them beat Pikeville. Pikeville graduated a lot of really good football players who many had started for 3 seasons. David will get a couple here and there to Mingo but anyone with any knowledge knows WV high school football and KY high school football is completely different when it’s comes to competition. How many kids in the last 10 years from any WV high school has had a D1 scholarship out of high school and stayed at that school longer than 2 years?

Sadly, this is par for the course for Appalachia in general though.

I wont throw that rock in a glass house. Belfry has had success stories, more than most .. Cole, Big A, and David Jones specifically. Belfry has also had probably had 200% + more guys who went to a D-1 school to not end up there in two years. A couple of those stories were sad like Ray Horton and Cameron Catron.. both guys I think would have played all four years as well.... but for each of those stories you have guys who either went from D-1 to a much lower level or just quit playing football entirely. This has been a problem with Appalachian athletes for decades.

True but you could probably count more kids I’m speaking of from the 15th region in football last 10 seasons than any WV school within 2 hours of BHS. The Belfry kids you mentioned. Lash Daniel, Grant Bingham, pretty sure the Phelps kid that played with Kash went to Wofford and graduated. Isaac Dixon is still on the team at UK.

[Khalisimo]

a couple of thoughts for the previous few posts

belfry is working on it. thats all i will say.
the money thing is what has to be figured out and im confident it will. they need jobs in that area in the worst way. the strained relationship between david and belfry hurts in a lot of ways and its sad but as eku said burn no bridges. seieng more examples of kids leaving because they want to play a different position.

as for boring football from what i have seen they have a plan for the shot gun sets that is deeper than we are going to do the same old crap but take a snap in shotgun instead of under center it seems like they put a lot of work into learning a real offense out of that. every shot gun attempt over the years has been a half minded attempt but this one seems likethey really dug in

i also hear te staff made a big effort this year to change their training routines...... hopefully they are able to get a new basketball and baseball coach and work with them on making movements that benefit all sports a top priority.

7 on 7 tomorrow for them. im not sure who will be playing ill post it if i hear but if anyone knows please let me know.

[pirateforlife]

a couple of thoughts for the previous few posts

belfry is working on it. thats all i will say.
the money thing is what has to be figured out and im confident it will. they need jobs in that area in the worst way. the strained relationship between david and belfry hurts in a lot of ways and its sad but as eku said burn no bridges. seieng more examples of kids leaving because they want to play a different position.

as for boring football from what i have seen they have a plan for the shot gun sets that is deeper than we are going to do the same old crap but take a snap in shotgun instead of under center it seems like they put a lot of work into learning a real offense out of that. every shot gun attempt over the years has been a half minded attempt but this one seems likethey really dug in

i also hear te staff made a big effort this year to change their training routines...... hopefully they are able to get a new basketball and baseball coach and work with them on making movements that benefit all sports a top priority.

7 on 7 tomorrow for them. im not sure who will be playing ill post it if i hear but if anyone knows please let me know.

Good to hear. Belfry backs other than Dre are undersized but have really good speed. They arn’t the type of bodies who will run you over but if they get to the outside they can outrun you. In 2019 Belfry had a similar situation and all 3 backs had 1000 yard seasons. Thomas Varney senior year was similar too

[EKUAlum05]

A few thoughts:


1. Belfry's staff has proven that they are devoted to trying to get their kids names out there and get them the chance to continue playing football. There is probably no other program in EKY history that has sent more players to the D-1 level in a ten year stretch then Belfry did and probably no school in Eastern Kentucky history that sent players to have a chance to play collegiately on the whole like Belfry has in that window.

2. With that said, the criticism is not that Belfry isn't making the effort to get their kids noticed, it is that Belfry's persona is outdated and to that I agree. Pikeville has marketed their program as well as anyone in Kentucky in two ways. One is via the "hip" factor of social media, uniform launches, and multimedia technology (shoutout to Panther Thunder who has played a big role in this). The other is by investing in facilities (training, practice, and locker room) that also market themselves.

As I said earlier in this thread, Pikeville has accumulated and used money better than Belfry (and for that matter almost everyone in KY). Anyone who works in business management these days knows, and this is not a negative or criticism, but the mindset of the younger generation is completely different than the mindset of even the millennials or Gen Z folks. Whether it is work or practice, you have to market to that generation a different way and the landscape of the world has changed with technological advancements.

To be blunt.. Belfry is behind... way behind.... in that capacity. Belfry already has a narrative to overcome that they play "old school", outdated, and borderline boring football ( I disagree but we are talking perception). When your marketing and facilities game is also trialing behind it doesn't help especially if they are already starting from behind due to perspective.


3. On the David Jones subject. This shouldn't surprise anyone. Jones clearly had his eyes on being a Head Coach and has did what he could to do just that including a tenure in purgatory at Phelps to get his foot in the door. Jones has has taken over schools and upgraded the talent by the means necessary at every location and he is doing the same now. Belfry knew this day would come, it is just he has came back right in the middle of the eye of the storm.  As jetpilot said, Mingo Central won't be a factor if you do what you do and win.

There is a reason the first thing Jones does is talk about wanting back in the Pike County Bowl.  Mingo Central can win the next three State Titles and the consensus will still be they are a "less than" program to Belfry and Pikeville. West Virginia small school football is just very weak and when Mingo Central played Pikeville after winning a title they got ran off the field.  As long as Mingo Central is kept as a secondary tier program and as long as Belfry and Pikeville continue to play for titles then Jones will always just be looking to pick off disgruntled players or block families who may try to relocate to Belfry or Pikeville at the feeder level. That's a lot of effort because he has to actively fight and keep his teams as a dominant force across the river just to play defense against the two powerhouses in the Bluegrass State. It's doubtful that is a sustainable endeavor as Jones has not proven capable of anything other than beating lower competition in the regular season to this point.

4. It's a bad situation, but the sky hasn't fell yet. It's time for a wake up though. Belfry still has a load of talent if they can keep it from leaving. Some of the talent that has left could foreseeably come back in a year as well. Don't burn the bridges.. understand why they left and what needs to change. The football program has overcome big hurdles before. They needed a weight training complex so they built one. They needed better facilities so they got them. They needed a youth system consolation and overhaul so they did it. They needed to play better competition other than regional teams in Middle School so they did it. The High School needed to set bigger goals so they did it.

What I do know is right now the Belfry football staff isn't crying "whoa is me" and sulking. The problem is this latest issues are bigger than just them. It's going to require organization, pressure, and not just change but innovation.

5. The very first thing this wakeup call should teach Belfry is to get their ducks in a row in terms of financials and boosters. I dont know what the pivots are that are about to occur... but most pivots need money to fund them. The latest turf fundraising and subsequent "drama" that has played out shows that Belfry has to get a better plan and a better organization to what it takes to get that fundraising train organized and generating additional revenue streams. Times have changed. You used to be able to throw a rock in the stands and hit someone with capital that ran a coal mine, part of the railroad, or something associated with the coal industry who had a checkbook that they could open. Money may still be out there, but it is going to take a lot more effort and organization to generate it.

Regarding thought number 2. I do agree but the younger coaches on the staff at BHS have done a better job with the social media aspect of things. Gary Runyon does a good job at it and Belfry finally went to Nike uniforms not too long ago and got a brand new uniform that had its own video unveiling. I think Belfry will be fine this season and wouldn’t surprise me to see them beat Pikeville. Pikeville graduated a lot of really good football players who many had started for 3 seasons. David will get a couple here and there to Mingo but anyone with any knowledge knows WV high school football and KY high school football is completely different when it’s comes to competition. How many kids in the last 10 years from any WV high school has had a D1 scholarship out of high school and stayed at that school longer than 2 years?

Sadly, this is par for the course for Appalachia in general though.

I wont throw that rock in a glass house. Belfry has had success stories, more than most .. Cole, Big A, and David Jones specifically. Belfry has also had probably had 200% + more guys who went to a D-1 school to not end up there in two years. A couple of those stories were sad like Ray Horton and Cameron Catron.. both guys I think would have played all four years as well.... but for each of those stories you have guys who either went from D-1 to a much lower level or just quit playing football entirely. This has been a problem with Appalachian athletes for decades.

True but you could probably count more kids I’m speaking of from the 15th region in football last 10 seasons than any WV school within 2 hours of BHS. The Belfry kids you mentioned. Lash Daniel, Grant Bingham, pretty sure the Phelps kid that played with Kash went to Wofford and graduated. Isaac Dixon is still on the team at UK.

Definitely!

The geography of the area was a burden for the longest time and the advent of internet has helped get exposure and given these kids chances to be noticed.

It has gotten better for sure.. for probably 25-30 years you wouldn't see D1 coaches darken the hallways of schools in Appalachia unless there was a Tim Couch type of undeniable talent. Lots of stereotypes and misnomers on top of the shear inconvenience of how long it took to get to these places.

[Khalisimo]

a couple of thoughts for the previous few posts

belfry is working on it. thats all i will say.
the money thing is what has to be figured out and im confident it will. they need jobs in that area in the worst way. the strained relationship between david and belfry hurts in a lot of ways and its sad but as eku said burn no bridges. seieng more examples of kids leaving because they want to play a different position.

as for boring football from what i have seen they have a plan for the shot gun sets that is deeper than we are going to do the same old crap but take a snap in shotgun instead of under center it seems like they put a lot of work into learning a real offense out of that. every shot gun attempt over the years has been a half minded attempt but this one seems likethey really dug in

i also hear te staff made a big effort this year to change their training routines...... hopefully they are able to get a new basketball and baseball coach and work with them on making movements that benefit all sports a top priority.

7 on 7 tomorrow for them. im not sure who will be playing ill post it if i hear but if anyone knows please let me know.

Good to hear. Belfry backs other than Dre are undersized but have really good speed. They arn’t the type of bodies who will run you over but if they get to the outside they can outrun you. In 2019 Belfry had a similar situation and all 3 backs had 1000 yard seasons. Thomas Varney senior year was similar too

caden woolum is not a small young man! hes no ivan lee but hes a little bigger than thomas imo. every bit of 6 foot or 6'1.

[KnoxvillesFinest]

Big question here for belfry fans…

If Haywood struggles the next couple of years, with early exits, and more players leaving…while Jones excels at Mingo, do you ask him to step aside and throw him out or do you stay loyal until it’s over for him

[Khalisimo]

Big question here for belfry fans…

If Haywood struggles the next couple of years, with early exits, and more players leaving…while Jones excels at Mingo, do you ask him to step aside and throw him out or do you stay loyal until it’s over for him

philip haywood has won 6 state championships in the last 10 seasons.

[EKUAlum05]

Big question here for belfry fans…

If Haywood struggles the next couple of years, with early exits, and more players leaving…while Jones excels at Mingo, do you ask him to step aside and throw him out or do you stay loyal until it’s over for him

Jones hasn't proved he can excel anywhere yet.

He has proven he can find wins in the regular season after getting established and get more talent and excitement on the field... but he is 1-5 in the playoffs since 2016.

Mingo Central was not a good football team last year. They were 3-7. It's going to take him a few years just to to get that ship pointed in the right direction again even in the shallow waters of WV small school football.

Haywood has earned the right to dictate that when he decides to walk away it will be on his terms.

[pirateforlife]

Big question here for belfry fans…

If Haywood struggles the next couple of years, with early exits, and more players leaving…while Jones excels at Mingo, do you ask him to step aside and throw him out or do you stay loyal until it’s over for him

Jones hasn't proved he can excel anywhere yet.

He has proven he can find wins in the regular season after getting established and get more talent and excitement on the field... but he is 1-5 in the playoffs since 2016.

Mingo Central was not a good football team last year. They were 3-7. It's going to take him a few years just to to get that ship pointed in the right direction again even in the shallow waters of WV small school football.

Haywood has earned the right to dictate that when he decides to walk away it will be on his terms.

Agree with you but at at Bourbon he was in a district with Boyle and Lex Cath. Regarding Haywood that is a dumb question. You think Alabama is firing Nick Saban if they don’t win another championship next 5 years? No. Since 2003, Belfry has played in a state championship game 13 times which is 12/20 seasons. So Belfry has played in the state championship game 60% of the time the last 20 years. 16 out of 20 years they have been in state semi finals. I don’t think there’s another program in KY that can say that.

[RTruth]

Where is Belfry’s 7v7? Who against?

All great points that people have brought up about Jones and kids leaving.

Is there a chance at anymore kids leaving before season starts?


The 700lb gorilla in the room will have to be addressed sooner rather than later though and that ain’t football.

[pirateforlife]

Big question here for belfry fans…

If Haywood struggles the next couple of years, with early exits, and more players leaving…while Jones excels at Mingo, do you ask him to step aside and throw him out or do you stay loyal until it’s over for him

Jones hasn't proved he can excel anywhere yet.

He has proven he can find wins in the regular season after getting established and get more talent and excitement on the field... but he is 1-5 in the playoffs since 2016.

Mingo Central was not a good football team last year. They were 3-7. It's going to take him a few years just to to get that ship pointed in the right direction again even in the shallow waters of WV small school football.

Haywood has earned the right to dictate that when he decides to walk away it will be on his terms.

Agree with you but at at Bourbon he was in a district with Boyle and Lex Cath. Regarding Haywood that is a dumb question. You think Alabama is firing Nick Saban if they don’t win another championship next 5 years? No. Since 2003, Belfry has played in a state championship game 13 times which is 12/20 seasons. So Belfry has played in the state championship game 60% of the time the last 20 years. 16 out of 20 years they have been in state semi finals. I don’t think there’s another program in KY that can say that.

12 times not 13. My bad

[EKUAlum05]

Where is Belfry’s 7v7? Who against?

All great points that people have brought up about Jones and kids leaving.

Is there a chance at anymore kids leaving before season starts?


The 700lb gorilla in the room will have to be addressed sooner rather than later though and that ain’t football.

Definitely a chance.


Two VERY important pieces were part of a group of four players who had an interaction with administration about the state of the athletics that did not go in what I would consider to be a desirable outcome.

Two of those athletes have left in the wake of that, but two more have not left yet but are rightfully frustrated. Will they leave? That's not for us to speculate... but I do know the players and their families want to be at Belfry but just have doubts as to where the entire athletics program is heading outside of football.

[pirateforlife]

Where is Belfry’s 7v7? Who against?

All great points that people have brought up about Jones and kids leaving.

Is there a chance at anymore kids leaving before season starts?


The 700lb gorilla in the room will have to be addressed sooner rather than later though and that ain’t football.

Definitely a chance.


Two VERY important pieces were part of a group of four players who had an interaction with administration about the state of the athletics that did not go in what I would consider to be a desirable outcome.

Two of those athletes have left in the wake of that, but two more have not left yet but are rightfully frustrated. Will they leave? That's not for us to speculate... but I do know the players and their families want to be at Belfry but just have doubts as to where the entire athletics program is heading outside of football.

Who left that you’re talking about other than Stanley?

[EKUAlum05]

Where is Belfry’s 7v7? Who against?

All great points that people have brought up about Jones and kids leaving.

Is there a chance at anymore kids leaving before season starts?


The 700lb gorilla in the room will have to be addressed sooner rather than later though and that ain’t football.

Definitely a chance.


Two VERY important pieces were part of a group of four players who had an interaction with administration about the state of the athletics that did not go in what I would consider to be a desirable outcome.

Two of those athletes have left in the wake of that, but two more have not left yet but are rightfully frustrated. Will they leave? That's not for us to speculate... but I do know the players and their families want to be at Belfry but just have doubts as to where the entire athletics program is heading outside of football.

Who left that you’re talking about other than Stanley?

Burke to Mingo Central

[Truewords]

Where is Belfry’s 7v7? Who against?

All great points that people have brought up about Jones and kids leaving.

Is there a chance at anymore kids leaving before season starts?


The 700lb gorilla in the room will have to be addressed sooner rather than later though and that ain’t football.

Definitely a chance.


Two VERY important pieces were part of a group of four players who had an interaction with administration about the state of the athletics that did not go in what I would consider to be a desirable outcome.

Two of those athletes have left in the wake of that, but two more have not left yet but are rightfully frustrated. Will they leave? That's not for us to speculate... but I do know the players and their families want to be at Belfry but just have doubts as to where the entire athletics program is heading outside of football.

Who left that you’re talking about other than Stanley?

Burke to Mingo Central

I can’t see anyone else leaving this year. But if changes all around aren’t made then several more will leave. Changes in other sports must happen. Football needs to tweak itself. Open up offense more with QB and change some defense philosophy. Belfry is not down and out but needs to pull itself out of tailspin it’s in.

[Khalisimo]

I can’t see anyone else leaving this year. But if changes all around aren’t made then several more will leave. Changes in other sports must happen. Football needs to tweak itself. Open up offense more with QB and change some defense philosophy. Belfry is not down and out but needs to pull itself out of tailspin it’s in.

agreed with this. tweak not radically transform
phil haywood wont roll over and die..... theyll figure it out.

[pirateforlife]

Where is Belfry’s 7v7? Who against?

All great points that people have brought up about Jones and kids leaving.

Is there a chance at anymore kids leaving before season starts?


The 700lb gorilla in the room will have to be addressed sooner rather than later though and that ain’t football.

Definitely a chance.


Two VERY important pieces were part of a group of four players who had an interaction with administration about the state of the athletics that did not go in what I would consider to be a desirable outcome.

Two of those athletes have left in the wake of that, but two more have not left yet but are rightfully frustrated. Will they leave? That's not for us to speculate... but I do know the players and their families want to be at Belfry but just have doubts as to where the entire athletics program is heading outside of football.

Who left that you’re talking about other than Stanley?

Burke to Mingo Central

His family met with administrators? He’s only been at Belfry 2 years. When Jones got the Mingo job I figured he was leaving due to family connections

---

Pretty sure Pikeville was in this same situation back when McNamee had left and at Pike Central. Pike Central was the 2nd best team in Pike County and Pikeville was struggling to beat Allen Central when Chapman was at PC. It’s not like Belfry is the only program something like this has happened to.

[bac2369]

Belfry will be at Hazard this Thursday for some 7 on 7.

[Micro-Brew]

Will Belfry be at the EKU 7v7 Sat?
One would think with them trying to revamp the offense, that they would definitely attend the biggest 7v7 in the area.

[Orange Blaze]

Big question here for belfry fans…

If Haywood struggles the next couple of years, with early exits, and more players leaving…while Jones excels at Mingo, do you ask him to step aside and throw him out or do you stay loyal until it’s over for him

This sounds very similar to what happened with Ivan McGlone at Russell.  He had been there for several decades and won 2 State titles but after a few down years at the end of his career was forced out.  Hopefully this isn’t what happens with the legendary coach at Belfry.

[Khalisimo]

belfry got better today chase settled in the more they worked and started seeing the field well especially in the last session he dropped 2 or 3 dimes pass defense was okay struggled against valley but there quarterback is a good player they should be improved thursday once linebackers get out of over comitting that will help jj is quick small but quick

best positive of the night for me was the pass catchers didnt see a ton of drops and good speed and size