Bulldogs played Belfry tight in the first meeting losing 34-19 in Louisa.

 

Belfry has their entire starting backfield and entire starting secondary for the first time since Week 1.

 

How does the re-match play out?

Belfry 41-21.

Lawrence gave them a game first time around and Belfry pulled away late.

How much will big game experience be worth?

 

Belfry is 11-1 in regional championship games the last 12 years.

Over the same time period they are 7-4 in semi-final games and 3-4 in state championship games.

 

In the same time frame, Lawrence is 0-1 in regional championship games.

Lawrence has not played in a semi-final or championship game during that period.

I am hoping it is a close game, but if I were betting I would bet on a running clock by the third qtr. There was a lot of talking going on by LC people after the first game and I don't think Belfry will have forgotten it. Good luck to both.

 

Belfry: 49

Lawrence: 14

Belfry and Lawrence have played some really close competitive games over the years, and there have been some blowouts too on both sides. Since Lawrence joined District 8 in 2011, however, Belfry has dominated the Bulldogs. Belfry and Lawrence have met each other in a playoff rematch each of those years, with Belfry easily winning all of those meetings, both regular season and playoffs.

 

2011 regular Belfry 48 Lawrence 6

2011 playoffs Belfry 46 Lawrence 16

2012 regular Belfry 41 Lawrence 6

2012 playoffs Belfry 48 Lawrence 6

2013 regular Belfry 35 Lawrence 12

2013 playoffs Belfry 42 Lawrence 6

 

This is a new year, though, and Lawrence played Belfry really tight a few weeks ago. Can Lawrence break the streak?

I like Belfry 31-17.

Belfry has got to take better care of the football this time around. They gave Lawrence 3-4 turnovers in the first game and the Dawgs capitalized on them. One was inside the 10 and another one was deep also, inside the 25 or so. Lawrence didn't gain much on the ground but hit Dalton for several big passes against the inexperienced MASH unit secondary of Belfry. Belfry did pull away late after they curbed the penalties and turnovers, but they were pretty lucky to come out with a win. If I remember correctly it was tied at the half, and it was 21-20 at the end of the third.

The big story line tonight, and moving forward potentially, is what does Belfry do with Keaton Taylor?

 

Taylor is one of the most explosive play makers in all of 3A and has been the past two seasons. Last year he played exclusively at SE and was vital to Belfry's success. His role in the Bourbon County game single handily changed the outcome and how Bourbon defended Belfry.

 

For those that have not followed closely Taylor started the year at QB (he had starting experience as a Sophomore due to injury) and he was solid. Taylor was a couple flags from running for 250 yards against Southwestern and his mesh point with the FB was awesome. Against Pikeville though it became clear Taylor wasn't exactly a passing threat, and that game coupled with injuries, prompted Haywood to try super Sophomore Noah Corbett under Center. Corbett, in my estimation, was a revelation at QB and brought a dual threat dynamic Belfry hasn't seen in a long time. With the Belfry backfield decimated by injuries Taylor became the #1 HB and performed very well.

 

In Week 10 though Corbett sprained his ankle and Taylor once again had to move back to QB.

 

Now for the first time since Week 1 Belfry has all their backfield together and all skill players except starting SE Austin Woolum (who may miss all the playoffs).

 

The question is... where does Taylor play?

Do you move him back to his natural SE position? He is a game changer there and if Corbett was ready to start the year it would have been a no brainer to have left him there. Taylor not only fills in for the injured Woolum, but he immediately becomes a big time upgrade to the Belfry passing game and allows you to maximize your playmakers. The issue though..is Taylor hasn't played a snap there since a year ago and your most explosive runner gets less touches.

 

Do you play him at HB? You now get your most explosive home run threat, but your SE spot takes a hit. The other issue is with Catron back you take reps away from your best blocking HB. Taylor is an amazing blocker in the open field, but not so much out of the backfield.

 

Do you play him at QB? You give your playmaker the most touches and he works the best with Hatfield.. Belfry's mule. But now your passing threat suffers the most and you take Corbett off the field who has home run ability of his own.

 

For me..I am hoping they move Taylor to SE and use him as the feature HB when Belfry goes Double Tight.

Belfry's coaches will find a way to utilize Taylor on offense moving forward. I could be wrong, but I think he will be used primarily at HB and occasionally at SE or QB. I would throw to him a couple times a game if it were me if for no other reason than to make everyone prepare for it. He and Catron could split time in the backfield, as both of them play defense full time.

 

For tonight, I really doubt we see Corbett behind center right off the bat. There will be a timing adjustment when he takes over and Taylor moves to another position. So my educated guess is Taylor will run the offense for at least the first couple of series, where hopefully they can get a lead and then bring Corbett in there to take over. Once he is in there, then I think he will stay throughout the rest of the playoffs barring any further injuries.

As much as I want to see LC move on, I think Belfry will be mad about what happened during the regular season and come out ready to play.

 

Belfry 42

LC 21

Mad may not be the right word. I think they will be ready to play, and they definitely will have more weapons on the field this time around.

 

I doubt Belfry gives up 3 TD's tonight in varsity play. I'm saying 42-12

Belfry's coaches will find a way to utilize Taylor on offense moving forward. I could be wrong, but I think he will be used primarily at HB and occasionally at SE or QB. I would throw to him a couple times a game if it were me if for no other reason than to make everyone prepare for it. He and Catron could split time in the backfield, as both of them play defense full time.

 

For tonight, I really doubt we see Corbett behind center right off the bat. There will be a timing adjustment when he takes over and Taylor moves to another position. So my educated guess is Taylor will run the offense for at least the first couple of series, where hopefully they can get a lead and then bring Corbett in there to take over. Once he is in there, then I think he will stay throughout the rest of the playoffs barring any further injuries.

 

Looking ahead (which is always dangerous) I think it is paramount that Belfry finds success with that quick hitch/bubble they used so well last year with Taylor at SE. IMHO the OLB and Safety is the single biggest variable with Belfry's offense if they are going to have success or not. When teams can commit their OLB and Safety to run support, specifically on the outside runs and option pitch Belfry is the most vulnerable. When the OLB and Safety are slow to react or make the wrong read that is when you typically see Belfry breaking the big play.

 

Having that quick bubble..especially to a guy as dangerous in the open field as Taylor... means he is a missed tackle away from 6 points and probably gaining 7-10 yards minimum as long as the OLB and S are stuck between the hashes. If the Defense has to adjust it means something else gets loosened up.

 

And to your point...Timing is definitely my biggest concern tonight.