Number 1 Belfry to face Number 1 Cabell Midland: Williamson Daily News

GOODY, Ky. – The Belfry Pirates will travel to Cabell Midland High School Friday night to face the Knights.

The undefeated Pirates and the undefeated Knights will be a ball game to remember. The Knights are number one in the state of West Virginia in the Class 3A classification. The Pirates are number one in the state of Kentucky in Class 3A classification; enough said? Maybe I can say more.

The Belfry Pirates have faced a multitude of tough teams this season and have won by multiple scores in every game so far. The Belfry offense works its way down the field like a slow moving tank; they are precise and very physical.

Cabell Midland runs an offense similar to Belfry; they run first and pass when needed. The Knights are nearing 2,000 rushing yards on the season from 242 total carries. They have 1,974-yards to be exact. The Knights only have 367 receiving yards on 18 receptions but their quarterback has just under a fifty percent passer rating. The Knights have scored 221 total points so far this season.

The Pirates have scored 198 points through five games and have a total of 1,708 rushing yards. The Pirates only have 143–yards passing but they have yet to be put in a situation where they had to pass.

Cabell Midland is coming off of a close win against South Charleston where they squeaked by with a score of 33-29. That was the closest score that the Knights have had so far, all the other scores were heavily one sided.

Belfry beat Knoxville Catholic last week by a score of 38-14. The closest score that Belfry has had was against Tates Creek during their first contest of the regular season. Belfry won by 17 points.

The Pirate offense is lethal because of the number of weapons that are available for use. Not one player can be over looked and they share the work load evenly.

Cabell Midland has two solid running backs and a quick quarterback. Devin Stapelton leads the rushing attack for the Knights with 592-yards on 62 carries this season. Caperton Humphrey follows closely behind with 522-yards on 76 carries. Quarterback Tyler Brown has scored six rushing touchdowns for the Knights so far this season.

Derek Wellman and Xondre Willis lead the rushing attack for the Pirates. Wellman has 385-yards rushing on 47 carries and Willis has 368-yards rushing on 32 carries.

Defensively, the Pirates are led in tackles by their corners and safety’s. Catron, Chase Dove and Nate Sanger all have 38 tackles apiece. Belfry’s strong suit is assisted tackles, very rarely does an individual Pirate get away with a solo tackle. They are a team that hits from all sides.

Cabell Midland’s numbers resemble those of Belfry’s except for a few more tackling stand-outs. They are able to create pressure in the back field and disrupt a team’s natural game flow.

On paper, these teams are evenly matched. The Belfry Pirates have a hidden weapon that cannot be prepared for: intensity. The intensity that the Pirates bring to every game has been the deciding factor in every game so far this season. Good teams with good game plans have faced the Pirates but have not been able to match their intensity level from beginning to end.

(William Plaster is the sports reporter for the Williamson Daily News, he can be reached at 304-235-4242 ext. 2274 or at [email protected] or on twitter @SIDplaster)

Number one Belfry to face number one Cabell Midland - Williamson Daily News - williamsondailynews.com