What does Belfry need to do to improve in 2015? What do they need to keep doing to be successful? Remember, please be constructive.

What does Belfry need to do to improve?

Fill the key voids left from graduation. Austin Hatfield is the biggest blow at FB and LB. Losing Dakota Stanley at LB will be tough as well. Outside of those spots the Pirates either return experience or have a very good plug. The success of Belfry's offense will revolve around Jr. Noah Corbett's progression at QB. Corbett has elite playmaking ability and an athletic skill set the Pirates have not had under Center in many years, if he can run the offense smoothly and mature in decision making he could have a breakout year.

 

The biggest place I want to see Belfry improve is in specific aspects of Special Teams. The Pirates have a very effective Punter and a very effective Place Kicker returning for their 3rd season's as Starters to build around. The Pirates though were flat out awful at times in other areas. Belfry needs to have a consistent long snapper.. bad snaps alone probably took 20-25 points off the board directly. The Punt Return game was simply put a train wreck. Belfry gave up hundreds upon hundreds of yards in field position by essentially refusing to field punts. It was for good reason as Belfry probably muffed a quarter of the punts they did field. The Kickoff return game wasn't bad per se, but it also was not a weapon. Both kick coverage units did a respectable job.

 

What do they need to keep doing to be successful?

Lean on their defense and continue to grow and improve in practice. The Pirate defense was playing as good as any unit in KY by November and have possibly the best Front 5 in the State. If Belfry can continue to function with clockwork precision on defense they will remain one of the top favorites for the AAA Title. Offensively as they re-define their identity with new players it will be helpful to fall back on a big, experienced, and talented O-line.

 

The other key will be to take ownership of their potential. The scary part of Belfry's 3A Championships was that the core of both teams will only be Juniors in 2015. The Pirates had another strong Freshman class last season who should come into their own. Expect guys like Derek Wellman, Justin Adkins, Taveon Hunter, and Devin Varney to see their roles and expectations increase. For Belfry to win a Title in a loaded 3A it will be a mixture of these kids stepping up..and the seasoned Juniors like Horton, Bentley, Catron, Hall, etc pushing themselves even further.

 

Outlook:

A lot can happen between now and August. What we do know is Belfry will be tough... real tough. The Pirates are right in the thick of the high point of the program's talent pool and if this still young team buy's into Haywood's "get a little better every day" mantra their potential is sky high. Working against Belfry will be the toughest schedule I recall a Belfry team ever playing.. their non-district schedule has 5 teams I expect to be ranked in the respective Top 5 of their individual classes (Cabell Midland, NewCath, Pikeville, Johnson Central, Knoxville Catholic). The Pirates also will have to navigate what appears to be a much stronger Class 3A.

 

Barring injuries or the unforeseen it is pretty clear Belfry will be the significant favorite to emerge out of the East for the 6th Straight season even despite the addition of Bell County, Corbin, and veteran teams like Russell and Lawrence County. It is also safe to say at the minimum Belfry will be right alongside LexCath and Boyle County as co-favorites to win the entire thing.

Great information ATLCat. Thanks for providing it.

Thinking about the upcoming season and wondering about positions and how Belfry will fill the open spots available.

 

I'll start with the offense (even though defense is what I am really excited about).

 

Belfry returns 7 full time starters

 

WR - Sr, TJ Dotson, TE - Jr, Cole Bentley, LT - Jr, Austin Dotson, LG - Jr, Jordan Scott, RT - Sr, Austin Gibbs, RB - Sr, Xondre Willis, RB - Jr, Cameron Catron

 

They must find replacements at Center, Right Guard, Fullback and Quarterback

 

Quarterback - Jr, Noah Corbett started at least half of Belfry's games last season, but a late season ankle injury kept him out of the playoffs. He should be able to step in and hit the ground running as he is almost like a returning starter.

 

Fullback - Several kids return with some experience at the FB position. The most experienced is Jr Andrew Fletcher, as he has gotten lots of time backing up Austin Hatfield over the past couple of seasons. So, Derek Wellman showed lots of promose in his time in that position last season as a Frosh. This will be one of the more interesting position battles in the pre-season as both of these guys are big, tough kids who want to be on the field.

 

Center and RG - I admittedly don't know who is in position to earn these spots. Perhaps somebody in the know can give us their thoughts on any interior line predictions. I do know that Sr's, Timmy Adkins and Jeremiah Gooslin along with Jr's Brayden Preece and Jordan Wolford all served as backups last season and any guesses I would take would start there.

The Preece kid was Belfry's go to backup on the OL last year and took snaps at both Center and Guard. He will fill one of those voids seemlessly.

 

I am not overly worried about the other spot on the line because if there is one thing Belfry does is make linemen who step in. With Scott, Dotson, Gibbs, and Bentley you have one of the biggest and best cores of a Pirate OL to ever return.

 

FB and QB are the concern though both have guys who have started and played well.

 

At FB it is all about what you no longer have instead of what you do have. Hatfield was so important and so good that Belfry's HBs were rendered essentially useless in the Title Game. I hesitate to say Hatfield was Belfry's offense outside of the big play ability of the QB. Fletcher has started 5 or 6 games, but I never viewed him as the prototype FB. He runs hard and fast but just lacks the physicality you usually see. He is a talent you need on the field though. Wellman is your prototype FB and has a bright future but lacks the experience. I am not sure what will happen when He gets squared up in the hole in a big game.

 

QB is its own unique concern. Noah Corbett is special. Belfry has not had a kid at QB in a long time with his skill set. He may be one of the best running threats and passing threats in EKY. I could see him have a breakout year and be a super star. In the other hand, he has a very long way to go in order to run a Haywood offense especially without Hatfield to hand it to and let him do all the heavy lifting.

 

On top of all this Belfry has a couple Sophomore kids who the buzz has been nothing but high praise. Devin Varney became a huge help at DB as a Freshman starter and Justin Adkins many feel the Pirates have to find a way to get him on the field.

 

The upside is there for a truly special team and dare I say one of the best to ever wear the red and white,,, but that potential all begins with the offense and figuring out the QB and FB

The upside is there for a truly special team and dare I say one of the best to ever wear the red and white,,, but that potential all begins with the offense and figuring out the QB and FB

 

:eek:

^^^^^

 

If the Defense stays healthy they are going to be elite level good.

 

Pirates return 7 Defensive starters with truthfully speaking the LB spot being the only question. That defense should be championship caliber right from the jump.

 

The fact is Belfry will have 5 or 6 guys on defense who have been key parts to a group that made dominating playoff runs and championship performances.

 

I honestly feel Belfry will have a Top 5 Oline and possibly the best Dline in the state regardless of class. Horton, Bentley, and Hall are simply dominant.

 

My hope is Belfry works hard on Special Teams in the Summer. They have a very good kicker and punter and should have solid Sophomore and Freshman talent that will be hungry to get on the field anyway possible. For small school football if you can win the Special Teams battle it usually can add fifty yards of field position and maybe 3-7 points per game

You really need to try and be more optimistic, ATL :lol2:

 

Seriously, I understand the excitement but even with all the returning experience, the Pirates are going to be without a huge chunk of their offensive production from last season. Take Hatfield and Taylor off that team, and they struggle to produce.

 

The Pirates have a really tough schedule, and will be searching for the right fit in the backfield. I wouldn't be surprised to see them with a few losses on the tally sheet.

Tates Creek

@ Harlan County

Newport Central Catholic

Pikeville

Knoxville Catholic, TN

@ Cabell Midland, WV

Lawrence County

@ Sheldon Clark

@ Pike County Central

Johnson Central

You really need to try and be more optimistic, ATL :lol2:

 

Seriously, I understand the excitement but even with all the returning experience, the Pirates are going to be without a huge chunk of their offensive production from last season. Take Hatfield and Taylor off that team, and they struggle to produce.

 

The Pirates have a really tough schedule, and will be searching for the right fit in the backfield. I wouldn't be surprised to see them with a few losses on the tally sheet.

 

People told me I was sandbagging last year because I viewed the prospects pessimistically

 

Schedule is a bear.... I count 5 teams who should enter the Belfry game ranked in the Top 5 in their respective class. I think 2 losses are almost assured.

 

Corbett is the key on offense. All good things start with Corbett and his development.. if Belfry can't click on offense it will be because Corbett is not clicking at QB.

I will take them to win another state title......

Interesting season for the Pirates. Replacing Hatfield is a lot easier said than done. The fullback is the gas in Haywood's engine....big shoes to fill.

 

However, IMO the development of Corbett @ QB is the biggest factor facing the Pirates this season. If he can grasp the read/react nature of Haywood's offense....he could go down as one of the best QB's to come thru Belfry in a long, long time. He is a fluid athlete that has the innate ability to create space and separation. Good passer with a good arm. Not that it means anything His development will be vital to Belfry's chances of repeating.

 

Defensively, Belfry should have one of the strongest units in the state...regardless of class.

 

Gonna be an interesting year on Pond Creek

Defensively, Belfry should have one of the strongest units in the state...regardless of class.

That is a BIG statement.

That is a BIG statement.

 

I try to avoid hyperbole as much as possible..but this 2015 Belfry Defense has a chance to be really, really special.

 

Think about it like this:

The 2014 Pirates played some very strong offenses.

 

Henry Clay- Averaged nearly 40 points a game and one of the state's most proficient RB's.... did not score an offensive TD.

 

Southwestestern- Was essentially an equal to 5A State Champ Pulaski County. Scored one long offensive TD on a busted assignment.

 

Christian Acad. of Knoxville- Had a future D-1 Quarterback and a TE/WR who just signed with Tennessee and had over 15 major D-1 offers... scored one offensive TD. The only other team to hold them to that was Tennessee superpower Alcoa.

 

In their 5 playoff games Belfry allowed only one TD against the Varsity defense (a reason why Dalton from Lawrence County is so good IMHO). I won't say there was a dominant offense, but Central, Russell, Lawrence County, and Pike Central were all pretty stout offensive teams.

 

Also consider that 5 or 6 of these returning starters were vital cogs in the Defense who made a similar impressive November stand in 2013 when they shut down the Offenses of Bourbon County, Pike Central, and Wayne County... probably 3 of the top 6 or 7 offensive teams in 3A.

 

I honestly do not think there is a better D-Line in Kentucky returning than Horton, Bentley, Dotson, Hall, and Sanger. You are talking about 4 guys who will be starting for the third consecutive year and Sanger is a tackling machine.

 

With all that said, Belfry has to rebound from losing both of their LB's and both guys were awesome in 2014. We all know what kind of force Hatfield was, but Dakota Stanley was one of the State's top tacklers. I am not as worried about the Secondary because Belfry was forced to be so deep due to injuries, but Edwards proved a solid Safety and Taylor was Belfry's best coverage corner.

 

All things considered though... I would have called Belfry probably a Top 10-15 Defense in all of Kentucky in 2014 and they return the brunt of that unit.

After last season and all the injuries that occurred during the regular season, I am looking forward to the prospect of a healthy run for a change. The nice thing about last season is a lot, and I mean a whole lot, of younger guys got really meaningful playing time due to the injuries. And as luck would have it, nearly everybody got healthy for a playoff run, save for Woolum and Corbett.

 

Some of those guys will be moving up into a starting role this season, and they have been there and done that so they shouldn't be so white eyed.