I was there. Im very excited about the amount of young talent on the field for Belfry. Primarily Juniors with several sophmores on Defense, and they almost pitched a shutout agains the defending 1a Champs!

 

#18 played a very good and spirited game. Ivan Lee was very impressive and as always #52 played great. #5 really responded after being thrust into a pressure situation. May and Chapman made big plays all night. The offense wasn't working all that well, but the intangible things were there (May's second effort at the end to ice the game and Corey's big strip after a long run)

 

This Pirate team could be very good. We will go as far as our Qb can take us. It wasn't a dream game for Preston but I thought he kept his composure very well and didn't let adversity take his mind out of the game. He will continue to get better every outing, and may not see another NG as good as #76. (the guy was a moster!)

 

Way to go Pirates!

I was there as well and this was just what I expected. A hard hitting game. I saw some real kill shots out there tonight.

Congrats to the Pirates. Lets just hope my Panthers can make it a Pike County sweep tomorrow night!

With this win, seeing Belfry playing in the pizza box this year wouldn't surprise anybody in the commonwealth!

This game had a very "big time" feel to it. NCC's lineman were excellent pass blockers, but seemed to not fire off the ball very well. #7 was taken out of the game.

 

Was there another Qb option prior to pre-season for NCC? #14 threw a VERY nice and accurate ball, but his dislike of contact was apparent. I have a feeling last years Qb (Deihl?) would have tucked it and gotten nice yardage on many of the rollouts.

 

Does NCC usually run that much shotgun/spread, or did Belfry force that by stuffing the running game early?

NCC likes to spread it out, nothing out of the ordinary for the Breds.

Congrats to Belfry. Great game by both teams, the kind of game that you love to watch.

Hey Cam I told you man you cant bet against Belfry at home I know it was not quite the score I had but they got it done

Yeah not a knock to NCC at all on this game. Belfry has a really quick defense. I said earlier our speed on defense would be the difference in the game and I believe it was on the Dline. Belfrys offense will come around more each game. NCC has a wonderful defense plus our jitters,fumbles, and penalties dont equal alot of points. These two teams are very evenly matched and maybe it isnt the fact that NCC is down but maybe Belfry is good. Also I believe that was the best pass defense Ive seen Belfry have in a while. Our defense isnt going to give up alot of points this year. Also my hat goes off to NCC you guys are filled with class and a great team. I said after the game they are nothing like seeing two classy teams all hugging each other after a hard fought game.

I think you are right Belfy Boy, NCC will be right in the thick of things come title time, Belfry must be one heck of a team to hold NCC to only one score.

Did anyone else think Ivan Lee was just awesome tonight?

Yes.. Ivan Lee was awesome tonight... this is the best Belfry has looked in the first game of a season in a while. Our defense was really firing on all cylinders after the first series. I just loved how the Pirates shut down #7..All in all the Pirates played a great game.

I don't mean disrespect, but I imagine NCC fans are somewhat in shock. They seemed quite confident they would win handily. I know I expected them to hand the Pirates defeat. Wow was I wrong.

 

Its still early.. A PO'D Ashland team will be ready to go wild next week.. Belfry better enjoy the night and get to work.

NCC is a quality team, with loads of talent, but it seems like they just need more work to get where they want to be. The young QB got a lot of good experience tonight in a pressure situation and it will help him.

Haywood really seems to have fallen in love with "setting up the big play."

 

I was wondering if Corey would ever carry the ball for a while. It worked probably as planned. The man is a winner.

 

One more thing. #8 ran the ball hard. He hit the whole hard and was a good low runner. I hope the fumbles don't temper his role in the offense. IMO, splitting the time between him and #18 would be advisable, as both bring something to the table.

#8 is Phillip Hickman and #18 is G Epling

G Epling (#18) was everywhere tonight. He was walking tall and carrying a big stick. All 5'6, 145 lbs of him. Way to go GE, you definitely deserved the player of the game award you received. Pound for pound, the toughest guy on the field tonight. :thumb: