[EKUAlum05]

After seeing Ashland play the way they have this season, I don’t see how this is a discussion. I thought I saw some wholes that Bell County presented as they moved the ball down the field a lot, but then the tomcats produced 5 turnovers and 4 in the red zone. Belfry has put up huge numbers on the ground and dixon/coleman has been the best duo in the class, but the tomcats hold them to 3 points. Etown looks promising but I cannot see them beating ashland this year.

Tomcats- 35
Etown-10

This was a pretty good Belfry team....not great by any means.   Ashland did a good job of containing the run game.  However, Belfry is so one dimensional....as was Russell.   Those were the Tomcats best wins by far.  Interesting too see how they handle a team with at least some semblance of a passing game.  E-town may not throw it a lot... it they can throw it.   
 Should be a Good game.

Russell was far from one dimensional this year.  In the second Ashland game they rushed for about 120 and passed for about 100.  Probably one of the most balanced teams in the area actually.

This years Belfry team wasn’t close to Belfry teams we’ve seen in recent years. I picked Ashland to win but I didn’t feel like they made much of a statement and it was a good opportunity for them to.  Not certain that either team has enough of an edge to pull away big. Curious to see how this one plays out.

E Town 21
Ashland 17

I think this is a very fair assessment.   Belfry was not nearly as good as years past.....and this may be the beginning of a trend over the next couple of seasons.    I will be interested too see what E-town brings to party in terms of athleticism and offensive diversity.   Should be a good game.

The depth simply was not there at several positions and they were able to mask it with some fantastic individual play.

Belfry has two years coming up where the talent pool will be as shallow as it has been since 2009-2010. On top of that, you have to replace two guys with D-1 level offers, one of the best RB's in Belfry history, and several starters on both sides of the ball and up front, several of which will be playing on Saturdays at the D-3 or NAIA level.

The good news is Belfry has a fantastic 8th Grade class that will probably start to contribute as Sophomores then really be a cornerstone to build on their Junior and Senior seasons if all goes as planned. I like some of the young guys on this year's team like the Dre Young kid and I think Mikey Hylton is going to be an excellent QB as well, when that group is Seniors and the incoming crew are Juniors I think Belfry will be back in contention for sure.

Next year will be the most vulnerable Belfry has been for a while and the first time I legitimately cannot see them as a legitimate title threat in over a decade. Still some good players, still Haywood coaching, still good Assistant Coaches that develop, and still a sense of pride to represent the program.. so I think Belfry will remain a tough out... but no where near where they have been where Belfry could replace an injured player with minimal dropoff.

Remember the name Isaiah Stanley though. Was a star on that 8th Grade team. Belfry has missed that workhorse Fullback, probably never more than this season, and Stanley has the potential to be that next guy you can hand it to 20+ times who also plays LB'er and owns the middle of the field. There is also the next Caudill on the way! For those that remembered Micah and Jonah Caudill, Ace Caudill is a fleet footed HB on that 8th Grade team with lots of promise that will put you in mind of his dad and uncle. Cayden Varney also will be a nice athlete who made a lot of plays.