This one was tight for a QTR as Belfry trailed 7-0 and ran 3 plays for 0 yards.

 

 

After then...this one was an absolute domination. Pirates gain 425 yards before taking a knee. Breathitt scored a late TD to make it respectable, but Pirates left no doubt.

 

Belfry lost their HR back Justin Johnson as he re-aggraveted his concussion. He will more than likely miss the rest of the playoffs.

2C I think that if you refer to my PM earlier I called a 20 point win if Belfry won the game...where is that patting my self on the back emoticon?

You nailed it JD. I was too nervous to be confident.

This was a strange game.

 

Breathitt took the opening kickoff and put together a long drive where they used a lot of clock. They had several 3rd and long or 4th downs where they converted. They did a good job of spreading out Belfry's defense and taking what they could get. Belfry was rushing 3 and dropping 8 in coverage and Breathitt didn't complete a pass on that drive, but Trent scrambled for several big gains, especially when it was long yardage situations. Their best play was a speed option where they use one of the wideouts as the pitch man, forcing the OLB/DE to chose and stalk blocking the corner. Breathitt finally turned the ball over on downs at the 3 yard line.

 

Belfry ran 3 plays for 0 yards and punted, giving Breathitt good field position inside the Belfry 40. The Bobcats put together another good drive where Trent ran several times and also hit Shouse for a couple of nice gains over the middle, one of them on 3rd and 17 where Shouse knew just where the firs down marker was. The drive finally ended with a TD for Breathitt when Trent found Watkins in the end zone. The TD came with 22 seconds left in the first quarter.

 

Belfry did get a good return to about the 40 and they ran one play for no gain before the quarter ended. At the end of the first quarter, Breathitt had a TOP of 10:40 and Belfry had ran 5 plays for net 0 yards, including the punt. Breathitt was doing to Belfry what Belfry likes to do to teams, keep their offense off the field and eat up clock with long methodical drives.

 

Belfry opened up the playbook and dominated the rest of the game building up a 21-7 halftime lead, eventually pushing it to 35-7 and then the final score of 41-20. The Belfry offensive line deserves a ton of credit for their control of the LOS. Belfry's backs ran hard all night and Sani Warren really created a lot of yards with his good fakes and his decisions on the option plays. Breathitt runs a version of the old Bob Redmon defense but they don't quite have the athletes and defensive speed for that scheme against a team as talented as Belfry. The Bobcats seemed focused on stopping the FB first, which is a good approach against Belfry. When Belfry started beating them on the corners with option plays, it changed their approach a bit and opened up things for the FB in the 2nd half. That is where SO Austin Hatfield made a splash, powering his way to 160+ yards right up the middle. That kid runs hard and is a ton of fun to watch, he is like a bowling ball inside and tough to bring down.

 

Defensively, Belfry made some adjustments that allowed them to contain Trent and the Bobcats after that tough first quarter. They started bringing more pressure by usually letting the backside DE/OLB join in the rush, giving them a 4 man rush. It was enough and the extra pressure on Trent created a lot of problems for the Bobcats the rest of the game. Belfry intercepted 3 passes and all of the Pond Creek Nation will tell you they also recovered 2 fumbles, but each of those times the runner was ruled down. Belfry secondary was excellent, giving tight coverage all night which limited Breathitt's passing game.

 

Another thing I want to mention that I think made a huge difference in the game is Belfry's physical play. There were some really hard hits on defense, particularly from the LBs who made the Breathitt receivers pay for the decision to come across the middle. Belfry's lines were physical too. The hardest hit of the night came on a 2pt conversion by Belfry where RB Trenity Carr just steam rolled Trent at the goal line. He knocked him back several yards and it was one of the hardest hits by a RB I have seen this season. I am really impresssed with how hard nosed this team has become and over the course of 4 quarters i think it takes a toll.

 

I want to say that Breathitt is a fine football team and they are well coached. Trent has been a lot of fun to watch over the last couple of years and the young man is a football player. On both sides of the ball he just plays with passion and poise. He runs his offense well and NEVER gets rattled under pressure, he just side steps, slides, moves, etc. all the while having tremendous field vision. They Bobcats only lost two games the last two seasons, unfortunately both games were in the regional championship game to Belfry.

 

Finally, prayers go out to Belfry's RB Justin Johnson. He missed several games last season with a concussion. He received another concussion against Ashland this season and sat out the next 4 games. Last night he took a very hard (but clean) hit on the sideline and had to be taken to the local hospital for treatment. Early indication from Belfry's sideline medical staff was indicative of another concussion. If that is the case, there is no doubt his season is over, and possibly his career. Please say a prayer for this young man that his injuries will not be too serious and he will recover quickly with no ill effects. In the big picture, football is pretty far down the list and this young man's health is much more important than that. I can only imagine how Justin must feel though and my heart goes out to him.

Congratulations to the Pirates.

 

I'm thinking that this could be your year.

Congratulations to the Pirates.

 

I'm thinking that this could be your year.

Thanks papa, but don't jinx us

 

I was hoping Mason would pull the upset and make the trip next week so that maybe you and Mrs mcpapa might come to Belfry.

Excellent recap Tusi.

 

I like the point about how the physical play of Belfry's defense had an impact on the Bobcat passing game. The play that sticks out to me was I believe at the end of the 1st Half when the Bobcats would have benefited greatly from a score before the Half, especially with Belfry set to receive the 2nd Half kickoff.

 

For those that don't know about #10 Shouse form Breathitt, he has widely been known throughout EKY as perhaps THE hardest hitter in the mountains. The kid is 6'1 or 6'2 and hits like a freight train. Shouse had laid some wood earlier in the game and was Trent's favorite target on offense. Earlier in the Half Shouse was the only Bobcat having sustained success catching the ball. He came across the middle and Belfry LB Peyton Mullins decleated him on a high pass. Fast forward to this crucial drive and Shouse has a step on a deep ball and appears to be in position for a huge gain. The Safety is coming over and Shouse suddenly gets alligator arms as he looks at the Safety. Incomplete pass. Belfry takes a 28-7 lead into the Half.

 

The Pirate coaching staff had a beautiful gameplan, especially on defense. It is like they lulled Breathitt to sleep, got them to abandon their run game, then slowly but surely started turning up the heat until seemingly every play resulted in Trent having to to hit the Triangle, Circle, and X button just to avoid a sack before forcing a throw. I would be surprised if Trent complete 1/3 of his passes last night and the designed QB draws and speed option keepers the Bobcat have killed teams with were essentially useless. Belfry intercepted Trent 3 times, as Tusi said SHOULD have had two fumbles forced, and dropped no less than 3 other INT's where the defender had the ball in his bread basket. The Pirates also took a knee in the redzone on the last drive. Siply put, Belfry was The Big Red Machine.

 

Time to move on to their 9th Semi-Final Appearance in the last 10 years. This Bourbon team is downright dangerous and the Pirates better not take their work gloves off, especially knowing they will be without their big play back Johnson.

As I stated throughout the season, you cannot play a very weak schedule and expect to produce in the playoffs vs. good competition....you get a few wins for your record but in the long run you just hurt your team and your players....Breathitt's schedule was a joke and the team didn't get a chance to really progress....head coach's fault completely and very disappointed in that fact.....