[EKUAlum05]

No reason for an over reaction.

Last year was a testament to three things:
- Coach Haywood is a legend who gets as much as he can from what he has to work with.
- Isaac Dixon is a legendary player.
- Class 3A was not very good.

The fact remains, the past three years are essentially something most have seen coming. Belfry Middle has been dominant, but had a window where they were struggling to beat smaller local teams and losing bad to others. Numbers on the roster dropped dramatically. Players and families had to leave the school district for a multitude of reasons. 2022 is the by product of all that coming to a head.

The Middle School is typically the best barometer of what's coming three years after when those players become Juniors.

Right now Belfry has a ton of talent but it is in the Sophomore, Freshman, and 8th Grade ranks. They are simply not ready physically. Add to it Belfry has played a brutal schedule littered with powerhouse and larger schools. Last year's Championship run was kind of a bonus... but right now the simple truth is Belfry is still a couple years away from really being reloaded.

That's not to say there are not red flags that need to be addressed that can improve the program and expedite the timeline. For the life of me I still can't comprehend why Belfry seems to be the most injury prone team in the State year after year but at some point you have to think this is a trend and not a freak occurrence. Special Teams have gotten progressively worse and is borderline atrocious. Belfry loses probably 100 yards of field position every game in Special Teams which would help a ton with their philosophy. Belfry also continues to struggle against a team capable of running out of the spread and with mobile QB's capable of scrambling.

All that said.... patience is a virtue. Better days are ahead. Haywood still knows how to get it done or he wouldn't have a title last year. Maybe this rough patch is a good thing, sometimes you need that friction to expose areas to improve and avoid complacency.