[EKUAlum05]

Having watched replay what continues to stick out to me was that 3rd Quarter.

For anyone wanting to play the "Belfry was flat" card... that 3rd Quarter was the story of the game. Belfry was not flat in the 3rd...in fact they looked like the Belfry team everyone expected. The fact remains Belfry was held scoreless in the 3rd giving Pikeville their best shot.

If anyone wants to make excuses as to why Belfry lost I present that Quarter as evidence that the better team Friday night clearly won. To be honest, Belfry was actually lucky they did not lose by more. Pikeville scored 7 points off Belfry turnovers, but 14 of Belfry's 20 points came as the result of Panther turnovers. In addition, if Pikeville doesn't have a holding call on that first drive in the 4th Quarter...they not only probably avoid an Interception...but they were moving it well enough they probably tag on another score.

Now I am going to give my constructive criticism for Belfry having seen the replay:
- The blocking of the HB's is AWFUL!!!!! For this Belfry offense to work the HB's have to make their blocks and help seal the edge... the effort from the HB's was dismal and missed blocks directly led to about 3 Tackles For Loss.
- Pikeville gave a blueprint to neutralize this Belfry Front 7 everyone was bragging about. Spread the D-Linemen out and cut them down... use misdirection to make the DE's and LB's sit in their tracks trying to read the play. By the time Belfry could get their feet Pikeville had a 3 yard surge or had a quick hitter on the pass... individual effort then gave them bigger yards and conversions. Corners have to get tougher and the LB's and End's have to be more aggressive.
- Passing game as abysmal and non-existent. Belfry has proven you can win without passing, but without the threat of a pass the theory doesn't work. You don't need much to have that... the fear of the quick hitch or a short 10 yard out alone changes the dynamic..right now I don't even have the confidence they can execute that.
- Belfry has played progressively worse each game.
Henry Clay: Total team effort and domination
Harlan County: Total domination, but execution flaws on the option and bad play by the subs
Southwestern: Attrocious penalties negating scores and allowing SW to stay in the game... a lone defensive breakdown.
Pikeville: Well we just saw...

Belfry should have some time to get healthy and work on themselves the next two weeks. Gallia Academy and Sheldon Clark should both be teams Belfry can handle going away. I don't think either game will really tell us anything about Belfry. Someone needs to emerge as a leader...and someone needs to take the HB position as run with it until Catron returns.