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Tomcats just short at Belfry
JOSHUA BALL
The Independent The Daily Independent Sat Oct 08, 2011, 12:03 PM EDT

BELFRY — Football is a game of inches.

And Ashland was just inches away from Belfry in a 7-6 loss at CAM Stadium Friday night.

The Tomcats (6-2) had the opportunity to win the game late in the fourth quarter, but senior wide receiver Cody Withrow fell short of the chains on a fourth-and-nine in Belfry territory. Quarterback Sam Hunter, who completed 11 of 14 passes for 88 yards, orchestrated the final drive as Ashland converted two fourth downs.

“We like to throw the ball on our own terms,” said Ashland coach Leon Hart. “Belfry’s speed on defense really hurt us, and we were forced with more third-and-longs tonight than we have had all season combined up to this point.”

Belfry, ranked No. 2 in Class 3A, improved to 7-0 and coach Philip Haywood is now one game shy of tying the state career wins record of 345 set by former Newport Central coach Bob Schneider and Bell County’s Dudley Hilton.

The win was vintage Belfry. The Pirates, who played in last year’s Class 3A state championship game, controlled the line of scrimmage. They played smash-mouth football to the tune of rolling up 275 yards of total offense – all on the ground on 50 carries.

“I thought our offense stepped up, especially in the fourth quarter,” said Haywood. Senior running back Trey Willis rushed for 84 of his 106 carries in the second half.

“Their speed up front and depth in the backfield wore us down,” added Hart, who commended his defense for a solid showing. “You hold a team like Belfry to seven points, you should be able to win.”

But Belfry’s defense held Hunter in check. The Tomcats got 81 of their 105 rushing yards on its only scoring drive. That came on a 1-yard plunge by Matt McLeod, who finished with a team-high 53 yards on six carries, with 3 minutes, 26 seconds left in the third quarter. Hunter was stopped short on the two-point conversion.

“If we punch in the conversion, it is a different ball game,” said Hart. “I thought that was a big play in the game, and we really did not execute very well at all.”

Haywood said he challenged his defense during practice this week.

“We had yet to put together a complete game,” he said. “We have played the facets of our defense well, but I thought we did a nice job keeping contain [Ashland’s offense].”

Belfry, which kneeled the ball on the Ashland 3-yard line for the game’s final three plays and won for just the third time in 20 games against the Tomcats, jumped ahead 7-0 when quarterback Tyler Williams plowed in from a yard out with 11:11 left in the first half.

Sophomore Justin Johnson led the Pirates’ ground attack with 113 yards on 12 carries.

“We needed a game like this to see where we are at,” said Haywood. “While we are pleased with the win, we still have a lot of work to do.”

Meanwhile, Hart said his team will regroup.

“While these games are good, they are preparation for our district schedule,” he added. “We’re 2-0 in the district and our goal is to win a district championship, and that is still very much attainable.”