[Do-double-gg]

The truth is, Belfry’s talent pool has kinda dried up. The Belfry Pirates had a perfect storm situation the last 15 years at just the right time. First off, they have top notch coaching, but coaching can only take you so far competing against the top talent in the state. First off Pike county is the largest, highest populated county in the mountain area with 5 schools playing football and all the other 4 programs were trash during that run. So that means the best players and their parents wanted their kid to go play in the Belfry system for coach Haywood. Then you had several small schools just across the river in West Virginia, all of which had horrible football programs, so all the best kids wanted to play at Belfry from over there also. First bad thing to happen is all those small West Virginia schools consolidated to make Mingo Central and have a nice new school and great football facilities and they made some decent coaching hires and those kids had no reason to transfer across the river anymore. Then Pikeville makes probably the best coaching hire in a decade for the mountain area and he built a top notch, competitive program super quick that is already dominating 1A and playing in championships. Now all the in county kids have a choice and no one is going to pick the Belfry school system over the Pikeville system so now all the players are staying at Pikeville and the best kids from Pike Central, East Ridge and Shelbyville are all choosing Pikeville over Belfry. For the first time in probably 20 years Belfry and Haywood have nothing but Belfry kids and the results on the field are showing this and Pikeville will probably beat Belfry for the third year in a row and it’s probably not going to be close this year. Pikeville is the best program in Pike county now. I know all the sensitive Belfry fans are going to jump me for this one, but the truth is the truth…..no matter how much it hurts to admit.