Belfry vs. Wayne County Predictions (2013 Class 3A State Championship)

[JokersWild24]

3A State Final from Bowling Green.

 

Who wins and why?

[Commander 25]

Wayne Co wins. Don't think Belfry can stop Wayne.

[SEMPERFIFALCON]

I seen Wayne play the first game of the season this year and it was obvious to me they were as good as any team I've seen in 5-7 years. That includes the Fort Campbell teams, the Monroe teams, and the Central teams. If they play to their potential they will be the 3A champ....

[SLINK]

Belfry 21-14.

[All State Baseball]

I'm hoping Belfry wins. Seems like every time I pick against them, they win, every time I pick them to win, they get beat.

[bigblueinsanity]

Belfry D is legit.

 

Pirates win 28-21

[oldrambler]

I am picking Belfry, They come out and punch a team in the mouth and play what I like to call old school football. Great coaching, Line up, run the football and then go play action pass and burn you, play tough, hard hitting defense, win the special teams. Ball Control run game, Plat Defense, win special teams = Win.

 

Belfry 29

Wayne 2o

[nikeman49]

Been saying Belfry all year....not changing now....Belfry 23 WC 18

[JokersWild24]

On paper, this one looks like it will probably be the closest game.

 

We also probably shouldn't underestimate Belfry having been deep in the playoffs so many times before. Their kids and coaches are probably more likely to handle the awe/whole experience better.

[ATLCat]

I am not sure who made the call to make such a critical change on defense for Belfry so late in the season... if it was Haywood or an Assistant Coach.. but whoever it was deserves some type of coaching award because not only has Belfry improved defensively... it is simply a night and day type of change.

 

I don't think most people are giving Bourbon County the credit they deserve, nor Belfry the credit for their win. Bourbon entered averaging over 450 yards per game and well over 50 ppg (keep in mind almost every game they played had a running clock in the 1st Half).. Lawrence County averaged over 410 yards per game... and Pike Central's offense was one of the most prolific in 3A as well. LC and PC had even previously hurt Belfry just a few weeks prior in the regular season. Belfry's new look defense basically stonewalled all three.

 

Entering the 4th Quarter Bourbon had around 75 total yards for the game... the most prolific offensive team in 3A this year...and arguably one of the best offensive teams in the State and if not for a late fumble by Belfry and some...well... questionable clock operation... the Colonels may have struggled to have 125 total yards for the game.

 

I have said all season on here that there is no 3A team that can stop Belfry's offense except for Belfry themselves. I stand by that.. Wayne has a fantastic team and I think this will be a great game.. but I have to go with the Belfry Senior Class who has literally made Bowling Green their second home.

 

With the exception of CAM Stadium... these Belfry's Seniors have played TWICE as many games at WKU than any other venue in their career. The past two State Finals against Central have literally been decided by a missed XP each time... I have got to go with the big game experience of Belfry and a Pirate team who aside from self inflicted wounds is playing at a very high level right now.

 

Belfry 21

Wayne County 13

[Harry Doyle]

I'd love to see both teams win. Both are deserving. Both coaches are MORE than deserving.

 

But, here is how I'm going to break it down for the Belfry fans.

 

Defensively, Wayne County is just as good as Central has been in years past, w/ a much better offense.

 

Take that however you want it.

[gchs_uk9]

The past two State Finals against Central have literally been decided by a missed XP each time... I have got to go with the big game experience of Belfry and a Pirate team who aside from self inflicted wounds is playing at a very high level right now.

 

Missed extra points the last two years and "self-inflicted wounds" this season. Are those reasons for concern going into this game? Wayne is pretty strong in the kicking game.

[ATLCat]

Missed extra points the last two years and "self-inflicted wounds" this season. Are those reasons for concern going into this game? Wayne is pretty strong in the kicking game.

 

Belfry is very strong in the kicking game.

 

Wellman is having an All-State caliber season as a punter... two more punts last week inside the 20.. I would venture 80% of his punts have been downed inside the 20 with possibly the most punt sin the entire State downed inside the 5.

 

The Freshman Woolum missed a FG against Bourbon (not for lack of leg) but he has been Mr. Automatic on XP's... I think he has missed 2 XP's all season.. one of those against CAK was literally so close the official signaled it was good and only changed his mind after a conference.

 

Self-Inflicted wounds remain the key worry with Belfry. The Belfry offense is so good they can overcome some of these mistakes..but the pirates still continue to have moments of being brain dead where they either put the ball on the ground, make a bad decision, or get a costly penalty. Truth be told having watched film on Wayne County these self-inflicted wounds will be what determines your State Champion. Belfry plays a flawless game on both sides and they win it by a fairly large margin, IMHO. Guffey is the best player on the field but Belfry will have #'s 2-8 and possibly 11 or 12 of the 15 best players out there. What makes Wayne so good though is they are the model of consistency and they rarely make critical errors or force the issue.

 

Even against Bourbon and for as well as Belfry played the majority of the game.. those moments of insanity were all over. Several procedural penalties at crucial times, two lost fumbles that led directly to all of Bourbon's points, two dodged bullets on busted coverage where Bourbon missed a wide open Johnson deep, outside runs where Belfry just needed one block for a big gain and the back missed...

 

Belfry's offense is never going to play a perfect game.. too much ball handling, too many reads and moving pieces, too much timing... it is unavoidable that a procedural penalty or a fumbled exchange will eventually happen. Hatfied's fumble in the 4th Quarter is a prime example of an "expected" bad play. What has been Belfry's bugaboo though is unforced errors like when Sani makes an unnecessary pitch the back isn't expecting or a pitch 15 yards downfield being greedy, when Trenity Carr falls forward out of his stance for no reason, when Keaton Taylor drops a sure TD pass with no defender within 15 yards of him, or an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty 6 yards behind the LOS after a 15 yard run on 3rd and 6.

 

If Belfry makes those kind of errors a very consistent Wayne County team will eat their lunch.

[ATLCat]

I'd love to see both teams win. Both are deserving. Both coaches are MORE than deserving.

 

But, here is how I'm going to break it down for the Belfry fans.

 

Defensively, Wayne County is just as good as Central has been in years past, w/ a much better offense.

 

Take that however you want it.

 

From what I have seen I disagree.

 

I think this Wayne County team executes like Central defensively in terms of diagnosing plays and creating penetration...but there are two glaring differences that makes them completely different..especially against a team like Belfry schematically.

 

1. They are very quick, but they do not have the same speed at LB or in the Secondary. They actually resemble Belfry a lot. "Good" speed...great quickness... and rarely do you see one on one tackles having to be made. What made Central so good against Belfry is they had the speed at LB to play inside out.. even if they guess wrong (which will happen against Belfry) they had the foot speed to recover outside and prevent the Pirates from turning the corner. It also allowed them to play tight on the receivers and keep their Safety near the box knowing that if Belfry did pass they had the speed in the secondary to recover.

 

Wayne does not have that speed.

 

2. They are not an especially good tackling team. In fact I was a bit surprised with how much they struggled with tackles in the open field. As I mentioned, Wayne does a good job of pursuing the football so even a missed tackle usually doesn't turn into a huge play, but Central rarely missed any tackles 1 on 1 versuses Belfry.

 

The beauty of Haywood's offense is over the course of a game there will be 4-5 plays where Belfry has simply got you where they want you. Either someone reads wrong, someone slips down, or Belfry simply blocks it perfectly.. the end result is a Belfry back with a full head of steam versuses a Safety or LB having to accelerate and the help is simply is still caught up in the wash... Central won almost all those battles... I don't know if Wayne can duplicate that.

[Harry Doyle]

From what I have seen I disagree.

 

I think this Wayne County team executes like Central defensively in terms of diagnosing plays and creating penetration...but there are two glaring differences that makes them completely different..especially against a team like Belfry schematically.

 

1. They are very quick, but they do not have the same speed at LB or in the Secondary. They actually resemble Belfry a lot. "Good" speed...great quickness... and rarely do you see one on one tackles having to be made. What made Central so good against Belfry is they had the speed at LB to play inside out.. even if they guess wrong (which will happen against Belfry) they had the foot speed to recover outside and prevent the Pirates from turning the corner. It also allowed them to play tight on the receivers and keep their Safety near the box knowing that if Belfry did pass they had the speed in the secondary to recover.

 

Wayne does not have that speed.

 

2. They are not an especially good tackling team. In fact I was a bit surprised with how much they struggled with tackles in the open field. As I mentioned, Wayne does a good job of pursuing the football so even a missed tackle usually doesn't turn into a huge play, but Central rarely missed any tackles 1 on 1 versuses Belfry.

 

The beauty of Haywood's offense is over the course of a game there will be 4-5 plays where Belfry has simply got you where they want you. Either someone reads wrong, someone slips down, or Belfry simply blocks it perfectly.. the end result is a Belfry back with a full head of steam versuses a Safety or LB having to accelerate and the help is simply is still caught up in the wash... Central won almost all those battles... I don't know if Wayne can duplicate that.

 

Against who? Central and Paducah Tilghman?

 

A little bit of a difference there making one on one tackles vs. those two compared to other teams....