Well.... haha

 

Belfry puts it on the ground 9 times and lose 6 of them. Five of the six inside the Pirate 30 and leading to 28 points. The other fumble came at the end of an impressive Pirate drive when they were trying to get back in the game. First Half Belfry also took an 86 yard TD run off the board with a holding penalty that probably was not even necessary.

 

Meanwhile Catholic lived up to the hype. Amari Rodgers was superb...4 TD's and nearly 300 receiving yards. Chase Cunningham throws 6 TD's

 

Credit to KnoxCath on several of those fumbles though. Belfry definitely had numerous "unforced" fumbles, but the Irish layed the wood and also did a great job of stripping Belfry as the Pirates went for second efforts for additional yards. Chase Kuerschen is a man and is going to make some college very happy at Safety.

 

Is Catholic 25 points better than Belfry? Well... no and yes. Belfry moved the ball very well when they weren't shooting themselves in the foot... but at the same time you got the sense any time Catholic wanted to throw it to Rodgers he was going to find a way to get it. One of the best High School receivers I have seen.

 

Belfry has to move on

Let's put an end to this "Belfry vs. Trinity or Male" non-sense... they are what they are... a very good small school... maybe the best in KY... but tonight should close the book on them competing with the best of 6A.

Not the only game belfry will get beat this year...... Johnson central beats them also

As far as I'm concerned, this doesn't diminish Belfry's status as 3A's top dog in the slightest. Much like tonight, last year they traveled far from home to face a great team and got rolled pretty good due, in large part, to fumble issues.

 

They'll shore up what needs shoring up and be well prepared for a run at another title. However, the unbeaten season remains ever elusive for the Pond Creek Nation. On the bright side, a tough schedule like this gets you ready come playoff time. I'm sure Haywood and his staff will gladly trade a loss like this for a state championship.

Belfry may very well have a cake walk through 3A but I can't help but think that some of the air has been taken out of their bubble.

Catholic shows its power against Belfry; Matthews ejected

 

Catholic High School's football team was dominant in a battle of state powers on Friday.

 

Offensively. Defensively.

 

Special teams wasn't bad, either.

 

But the win was costly.

 

Chase Cunningham completed 14 of 19 passes for 320 passing yards and six touchdowns, including four to Amari Rodgers, and Catholic's defense recovered six fumbles en route to a 45-20 thrashing of visiting Belfry (Ky.) on Friday at Hollin Field.

 

The battle of state powers included Catholic coach Steve Matthews' third-quarter ejection, which came when the Irish received their third sideline warning call.

 

The ejection comes with a $250 fine, per TSSAA rules, and Matthews will miss next week's homecoming game against Region 2-4A foe Anderson County as a penalty.

 

"Three sideline warnings," Matthews said in a text message to the News Sentinel. "Not sure (if we will appeal it)."

 

The ejection was a blip on the juggernaut matchup.

 

Belfry is Kentucky's perennial power in Class 3A. The Pirates (4-1) have played in six consecutive state championship games, winning the past three. Catholic, penalized 15 times for 160 yards on Friday, is the reigning Class 4A state champion.

 

The Pirates entered Friday on a 13-game winning streak, thanks to a hard-nosed veer running attack and an offensive line with FBS talent.

 

They churned out 340 rushing yards against Catholic (5-1), including 116 from Noah Corbett (2 TDs) and 119 from Derek Wellman (1 TD). But eight fumbles doomed their rhythm.

Belfry couldn't stop Catholic and Catholic couldn't stop Belfry.

 

Belfry did did a good job stopping Belfry.

 

Belfry had no answer to Rodgers and we just don't have anyone who can cover him. He would take off on the fly and the QB would throw it as far as he could and let Rogers run under it. Phenomenal receiver who deserves the hype.

 

Catholic never stopped Belfry and the fumbles were killer. You can't compete with a quality team by giving it away that much especially on a short field.

 

It it was a sloppy night all the way around. I bet there were 30 penalties. Have you ever seen a game where the head coach was ejected for sideline warnings? It was that kind of night, lots of laundry on the field.

You aren't beating any good teams when you lose 6 fumbles. It's as simple as that.

2C, does Belfry play many pass-oriented teams?

Know nothing about Knoxville Catholic but I assume they are a top notch TN program. Kudos to Belfry for taking them on. Still the unmatched class of 3A.

Wanted Belfry but did not think they had it in them to win this one.

 

I think at this point Belfry is a long way behind the team they played.

 

As far as 3A goes Belfry should waltz to another title by 2 scores or more.