[firechief]

marttagtype namespaceuri="urnchemas-microsoft-comwww.bluegrassrivals.com="" forum="" images="" smilies="" redface.gif="" border="0" alt="" title="Embarrassment" smilieid="2" class="inlineimg">marttagtype>My take on the game:
Great crowd! Biggest crowd at Pburg for a game in some time. Belfry fans are great. Very classy bunch. I sat on the 50 the first half, very close to the Belfry fans, and they were awesome.

Both teams have things to work on. Pburg looked unstoppable on offense the first quarter, but seemed to wear down as the game went on. Belfry started the game slowly, but hung in there. Great effort from both teams.

Now for the specifics: I have been trying to tell people about Pburg’s line. They played very, very well tonight. Considering they start one true lineman with experience, a converted TE, 2 sophomores and a Jr who has never played the line before, they did really, really good against a Belfry front 7 that was HUGE. Pburg’s line is smart, quick, and aggressive. If they can continue to give Burchett time to throw, this could be a really fun year. The receiving corps looked good, with several great catches and only 1 bad drop that I can remember. In the first quarter, the pass set up the run, and Pburg was rolling. Later in the game, Belfry made some adjustments and it got tougher.

Belfry’s offense looked young, but some people are fooling themselves if they think that Belfry won’t be a force by week 5 at the latest. They have a big strong line, backs who run hard, a QB who got better IN THIS GAME, so by week 5 he should be good. I foresee Belfry smashing teams by the midpoint of the season. They may have a few more losses than normal, but will still win a lot of games. One question, though. I don’t understand why Coach Haywood didn’t use the pass play more that led to the first quarter score. Pburg was putting a lot of people in the box, and it was open most of the night.

Defensively, both teams had good moments, and both had bad moments. Prestonsburg gave up a lot of yards on the ground, but most teams who play Belfry will. Overall, the Blackcat defense was solid, but with improvement, they could be even better. t="on">Griffith andt="on"> McKinney had big games for the Cats, and the D line play was solid.

Belfry’s defense looked shell-shocked in the first quarter, then settled down to play very well the rest of the game. In the second half, when Pburg got away from using the pass to set up the run and just started trying to run the ball, Belfry’s defense came alive. Their big D Linemen started throwing their weight around and playing tough, and the Cats stalled on a few possessions. Again, when Belfry’s defense has a little more time and experience, they will be tough.

All in all, a very good game. Great atmosphere, great support by the fans, and kids from BOTH teams gave it their all. On a side note, I was watching the play where the players got tossed. My opinion was that neither player committed a foul so flagrant as to be ejected. It looked to me like there was a little pushing, but not much more.

Fans from both schools have a lot to be proud of, and both schools will have successful seasons. Good luck to both teams!

WOW, both players were squaring off with each other, fist thrown and connected. By rule, I think, even if you throw a punch you could be ejected without even connecting. There's no place for that type of behavior in athletics, if you think it does, your wrong.