Ram Posted February 15, 2016 Posted February 15, 2016 What does Belfry need to do to improve in 2016? What do they need to keep doing to be successful? Remember, please be constructive.
ATLCat Posted February 15, 2016 Posted February 15, 2016 Let's just call it like it is... Belfry appears to be scary good on paper entering the 2016 season. The three time defending 3A Champs return 9 starters each way, most of which are multi-year starters. Belfry also returns five different players who were on an All-State team in some form or fashion. Belfry's biggest question will be replacing the explosion and big play ability of Xondre Willis at HB. The Pirates have several talented runners, but it remains to be seen if any of them will rival the speed and burst Willis used. On Defense Belfry has to replace a pair of multi-year starters at LB. The biggest hurdle for Belfry will be complacency. With several Pirates receiving D-1 attention of some form or fashion and the relative ease which they rolled to the 3A Title, keeping focus will be a huge challenge for a team who felt some of that effect in the 2015 regular season. Too many proud programs in 3A who will refuse to roll over and just wait until 2017. To continue their success it begins with leadership in the off-season. It is also about a solid crop of Sophomores and Juniors who will not be content to simply "wait their turn" as a Starter and push some of the incumbent starters in practice. Though only two spots appear to be open each side of the ball, Haywood will undoubtedly look for guys who can play key snaps and limit guys being asked to play both ways. Belfry's 2016 Schedule should prove challenging. They play 4 games on the road against teams that either won a State Title or at the very least reached the Championship Game (Pikeville, NewCath, Knoxville Catholic, and Johnson Central).
bucsvoice68 Posted February 16, 2016 Posted February 16, 2016 Injuries, or lack of, are always key. The 2014 team had as many injuries to key players as I can remember, but come the state semis and the championship game, everyone was good to go. So timing of injuries can be key. Last year, it was really scary how few key injuries Belfry had. Austin Hall's broken hand, and Chase Dove missing a couple of game were about it, except for the regular sprains and bruises that may have cost a player a game or two. IMO, if Belfry stays relatively healthy and has a great mindset, as ATL said, then the sky will be the limit for the Pirates.
thunder1 Posted February 16, 2016 Posted February 16, 2016 Man, will Belfry ever have a down year lol
ATLCat Posted February 16, 2016 Posted February 16, 2016 Man, will Belfry ever have a down year lol 2009 was a down year and until they made a run in the post-season 2010 was a disappointing season as well. 2017 will be a massive question mark for Belfry. One one hand you are going to lose the most dominant class of players to ever come through Belfry.. Pirates will lose 7 or 8 key players each way. The majority of those guys being 3 or 4 year starters. For most programs this would be a massive down year...but Belfry still has some hope. Once this historic Senior Class is gone you still have three different classes of Pirates who won Middle School State Championships and some excellent play makers (Wellman, Varney, Adkins) to build around. With that said, Belfry will essentially be losing their entire OLine and DLine in 2017... and those are two units that are going to be amongst the best in Kentucky regardless of class... 2017 definitely will have a significant step back as they work new bodies in.
ATLCat Posted February 16, 2016 Posted February 16, 2016 Injuries, or lack of, are always key. The 2014 team had as many injuries to key players as I can remember, but come the state semis and the championship game, everyone was good to go. So timing of injuries can be key. Last year, it was really scary how few key injuries Belfry had. Austin Hall's broken hand, and Chase Dove missing a couple of game were about it, except for the regular sprains and bruises that may have cost a player a game or two. IMO, if Belfry stays relatively healthy and has a great mindset, as ATL said, then the sky will be the limit for the Pirates. Yep... very true points. The open Halfback position also plays into this mindset to me actually as well. There is not an inkling of doubt in my mind that if Devin Varney or Justin Adkins played HB they would pick up where Willis left off and be 1200 yard rushers. With that said, I personally hope that neither are HB1 when August starts and a guy like a Taveon Hunter for example improves enough to fill that hole. One of the single greatest reasons for Belfry's historic run is an increase of depth and more specifically less guys playing both ways. To borrow a baseball term Varney and Adkins' W.A.R (wins above replacement) are far greater at their DB spot than it would be at the vacant HB spot. If you move either to HB you increase the chance of injury 5 to 10X what it is playing them one way as a DB. If they get hurt..you now also lose two starters.
ATLCat Posted February 21, 2016 Posted February 21, 2016 3853 Total Yards Return Offensively, 61 Offensive TD's 3286 Rushing Yards Return, 50 Rushing TD's - Fletcher: 143 Carries, 919 Yards, 14 TD - Wellman: 95 Carries, 655 Yards, 12 TD - Catron: 64 Carries, 639 Yards, 7 TD - Corbett: 84 Carries, 420 Yards, 9 TD - Hunter: 36 Carries, 211 Yards, 2 TD 567 Passing Yards Returning, 11 TD's
ATLCat Posted February 21, 2016 Posted February 21, 2016 Defensively 30 Turnovers Return, 16 INT's and 14 Fumble Recoveries, 5 Defensive TD's - Varney 6 INT's, 2 TD's - Catron 3 INT's and 3 FR's - Adkins 3 INT's, 2 FR's - Browning 1 INT, 2 FR's 13 of Belfry's Top 15 Tacklers Return... and 6 of their Top 7 - Wellman 100 Tackles - Catron 93 Tackles - Horton 84 Tackles - Dove 75 Tackles - Varney 66 Tackles - Bentley 64 Tackles
ATLCat Posted February 21, 2016 Posted February 21, 2016 All-State Players Returning (From AP, CJ, and BGP) Belfry returns: 1st Team All-State DT -CJ/BGP (Horton) 1st Team All-State OL- BGP (Dotson) 2nd Team All-State K- AP (Woolum) 2nd Team All-State CB- AP (Varney) 3rd Team All-State DL- CJ (Bentley)
thehotsnakes Posted February 22, 2016 Posted February 22, 2016 This thread is basically just a notice to the rest of 3A that there is a very high possibility that everyone else will just be playing for the silver medal. With that said, everybody here knows that they play the game for a reason and anything can happen on Friday nights. But, anything less than a state championship should probably be viewed as a let down.
WeagleWeagle Posted February 22, 2016 Posted February 22, 2016 (edited) That's encouraging Edited February 22, 2016 by Blowitup
ATLCat Posted April 19, 2016 Posted April 19, 2016 Buzz is Belfry may be close to signing a Single Year Contract to play Rhea County, TN in Week 0 Belfry has been desperately trying to find a 10th game since Sheldon Clark dropped out of District Play and basically blew up their existing schedule. Rhea County is a solid program located between Knoxville and Chattanooga. The Golden Eagles have reached the 5A Semi-Finals the past two years and are expected to be one of the top contenders again this year. If this becomes official, here is how Belfry's 2016 schedule would look: vs. Rhea County, TN (Location TBD) vs. Tates Creek (Pike Co Bowl) vs. Harlan County @ Newport Central Catholic @ Pikeville @ Knoxville Catholic, TN vs. Cabell Midland, WV @ Lawrence County OPEN vs. Pike Central @ Johnson Central
Bac2369 Posted April 19, 2016 Posted April 19, 2016 Buzz is Belfry may be close to signing a Single Year Contract to play Rhea County, TN in Week 0 Belfry has been desperately trying to find a 10th game since Sheldon Clark dropped out of District Play and basically blew up their existing schedule. Rhea County is a solid program located between Knoxville and Chattanooga. The Golden Eagles have reached the 5A Semi-Finals the past two years and are expected to be one of the top contenders again this year. If this becomes official, here is how Belfry's 2016 schedule would look: vs. Rhea County, TN (Location TBD) vs. Tates Creek (Pike Co Bowl) vs. Harlan County @ Newport Central Catholic @ Pikeville @ Knoxville Catholic, TN vs. Cabell Midland, WV @ Lawrence County OPEN vs. Pike Central @ Johnson Central Didn't Belfry travel to cabell midland last season?
ATLCat Posted April 19, 2016 Posted April 19, 2016 Yes..CM is one of the very few definite home games this year.
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