[EKUAlum05]

BELFRY

1. 2015 -  (14-1) 3A State Champions. Won the State Title 43-0 over Lexington Catholic. Defeated two other State Champions (Pikeville and Knoxville Catholic) and two other eventual State Runner-Ups outside of LexCath (NewCath & Johnson Central) including a laded Knoxville Catholic and a 41-0 win over a very good Johnson Central team. Finishes as the #336 team in the country in Calpreps and ranked as the #4 overall team in KY.

2. 2016 - (14-1) 3A State Champions. Had several pieces from the 2015 team back. Lone loss was to Knoxville Catholic. Didn't have the high end wins over eventual finalists except for an impressive win over a loaded Johnson Central team that went on to win the title. Finished as the #453 ranked team in the country in Calpreps and the #6 overall team in KY.

3. 2004- (14-1) 2A State Champions. David Jones & Doug Howard's Senior year. Ended with an electric victory over Owensboro Catholic where both backs ran for over 200 yards. Lone loss was a very good Ironton, OH team. Had two hard fought wins over very good Prestonsburg teams and a great win in the Semi's over Josh Gross led Russell. Calpreps had them as #1098 in the country and #9 in KY.

4. 2013- (14-1) 3A State Champions. Very good team that knocked off previously undefeated Wayne County and Bourbon County in successive weeks. Got beat bad by Johnson Central though. Sani Warren was the QB and Austin Hatfield the Fullback. Calpreps had them as the #811 team in the Country,

5. 2003- (13-2) 2A State Champions. The first Belfry team to get over the hump. Did not start that well with surprising loss to Boyd County in the Pike County Bowl. Lost to Ironton as well. Round into form with a three huge playoff wins over a loaded Middlesboro on the road, Lloyd on the road in the snow, and an Elizabethtown littered with future SEC players. Calpreps had them at #1544 in the country

The Next 5

6. 2007- (14-1) 3A Runner-Up. The closest team to achieving 15-0 perfection. For 14 games Belfry was an absolute buzzsaw with the closest game being a 16 point win over Johnson Central. Andrew Elkins at QB with a backfield of Dustin May, Ivan Lee, and Thomas Varney, That ended when Belfry seemingly overlooked Central in their first meeting. Central had lost badly to that same Johnson Central team and Belfry rode in having demolished undefeated Breathitt County. Pirates nearly made the comeback but Central was able to hold on for the upset,

7. 1979- (12-1) 3A Runner-Up. Dick Roddy's signature team. Belfry road a perfect record and shocked powerhouse Highlands in the Semi's. They also had two quality wins over Leslie County along the way and tough wins over Pikeville and Russell in the regular season. Joker Phillips and Franklin-Simpson just proved to be too much in the Finals.

8. 2019- (11-3) 3A State Champions. Probably will be one of the most under-appreciated Belfry teams when all is said and done. The three losses doesn;t help, but a hard fought loss against Ohio powerhouse Archbishop Alter on the road, a one point shocker to Pikeville, and a lopsided loss to an absolutely LOADED Johnson Central (Both Pikeville and Johnson Central won State Titles). Lost is an impressive finals win over previously undefeated Bell County, a gritty road win over DeSales (expected to be the 3A Champion), and a season opening win over an extremely talented LCA.

9. 1986- (11-2) 3A Runner-Up. On the heels of the 3A Runner-Up season Belfry was loaded and armed for bear. Belfry shocked an absolute powerhouse Danville team in the Semi's but fell short, hampered by injuries, against Owensboro.

10. 2011- (13-2) 3A Runner-Up. After an overachieving team got blasted by Central in the 3A Finals, a gritty Belfry team earned their way back with a lone hard fought loss to Johnson Central as the only blemish. Belfry beat a very good Breathitt County and an excellent Garrard County in successive high intensity road games. Everyone expected an Ace Wales led Central team to roll with ease but Belfry took them to the final play before losing  by a point.

Worth Mentioning (No Order)
2014- 3A State Champs. Very good team that you can argue into the Top 10. Losses to Pikeville and Johnson Central and had a favorable playoff path.

2021- Won 3A Title but was not an elite team. 6 losses, one was a COVID forfeit against a brutal schedule. Isaac Dixon, Mr. Football, carried the load for a historic run and a historic State Finals.

1985- 3A Runner-Ups to Paducah Tilghman. Definitely a Top 10 argument. Solid team that spring boarded the Haywood era into proving they could compete on a state Level.

2010- 3A Runner-Ups. Got crushed by Central and lost numerous games... but had an unbelievable playoff push shocking #1 Somerset and a stacked Mason County team along the way.

2012- 3A Runner-Ups. Solid team who took Central to Overtime but came up just shy.

1989- Team who suffered maybe the most iconic loss. Noone expected them to challenge Highlands, let alone come up literally a yard shy of a massive upset of the eventual State Champs in a legendary playoff game.

2008- Belfry returned a ton from 2007 and was once again looking like a buzzsaw most of the season. Breathitt shocked them with a mammoth upset in the Semi's behind Channing Fugate.

2005- Searching for a 3-peat, Matt Maynard and Belfry had a huge "revenge" game at Russell in the Semi's. Russell jumped out to a lead behind Kasey Clark but Belfry came back. Pirates had it in the redzone looking for the win and Clark intercepted a pass in the endzone as Russell went on to win a title.

Great post. Some very great Belfry teams. I might even add the 90 team. Absolutely monstrous offensive line. An undefeated season but ran into an elite Ashland team. That Belfry team was very very good and just unluckily up against what might have been the very best team in the state in that Ashland team. Juan Thomas was an elite high school talent.

I agree.

Definitely should be in the worth mentioning discussion.