[AtlPirateFan]

I've analyzed and over analyzed this game since Friday night. Here are my takeaways.

. Pikeville is a very, very good ball club. Congrats to them for giving the rest of the state the blue print to beat Belfry.
. Belfry lacks a Sani Warren like leader. Last year when down big to Pike Central he threw the team on his back on pumped everyone up. I don't see that guy emerging just yet. It should be Taylor but I don't think he is comfortable in that roll yet.
. As good as Pikeville is this was a trap game thats been a long time coming. Until Friday night not a single boy on that field remembers a time that Pikeville even competed with Belfry (2002, 2006), let alone beat them. For these boys they knew Pikeville as an easy win, not Belfry's oldest and fiercest rival. Add that onto the fact that they have been crowned the 3A state champs even before the season started and you have a recipe for disaster.
. Over the last 3 games the Pirates have proceeded to take direct aim at their foot and pull the trigger. Until Friday night the Defense has been able to cover for the offenses issues. Pikeville eliminated that advantage with a short passing game that setup Pugh for a big night. I agree that Pikeville dominated this game, but I will also say, had Belfry not decided to grab so much laundry for the field they very likely would have been on top of this one.
. I've been saying all year, to beat Belfry you have to be more than one star and Pikeville proved just that Friday night.

I think this is a wake up call. I also think there could be 1 or 2 more losses on the schedule before all is said and done. This is a very good Belfry ball club but they have got to get the kinks worked out on offense. Ineffective passing game, penalties on almost every big gain, a backfield that still has no true leader going into game 5.

We will likely learn very little the next two games but when CAK comes to town we will see how much work has been done to cover the pass and get pressure on the QB.

In closing I feel bad for Sheldon Clark and at least the loss wasn't to Pike Central.