ATLCat

Unfortunately I think Belfry is clearly the 5th best team in 2A. The defense had some optimism after shutting out Louisville Central but as I stated in that thread, Central just really is struggling on offense and it is more of an indictment on them that it is a praise of Belfry's defense. Louisville Central only scored 6 points against a pretty mediocre Butler team. Belfry has speed and big play ability on Offense, but as we stand right now I am not convinced their defense has fixed any of their weaknesses from the past two seasons. Just like last season, Belfry's Achilles' Heel is their defense really struggles to win in the Front 7 against teams who can run the ball and force their LB's and Ends to get off blocks and make sure tackles. Offensively Belfry will have success every game but they are prone to turning it over or self inflicted wounds. To date both trends seem to continue. I don't think there is a team from 6 down on the same level as Belfry, but I struggle to see them ready to beat multiple teams in successive weeks when you talk about Beechwood, Mayfield, OCath, and LCA.

Wow! Curious if Raceland has been Jimmy Ceciled tonight!

Uncle Mo! If Pikeville wins they will need to name Mother Nature the MVP.

Their QB is an absolute dream for a HS coach. Very accurate and can make plays with his feet. They have some good targets and a run game that is fully capable of keeping the chains moving and chewing clock when they need it. If they can take care of business the next two weeks the Bulldogs may be a big fly in the RPI ointment forcing teams to come to Louisa. I don’t think LC has the overall defense to be a legit title threat, but that offense is efficient enough to be a real problem. The ability to extend drives and string together multiple first downs while chewing the play clock is an absolute upset alert on the right night in late fall.

Lawrence has a really good shot at going undefeated in the regular season.

Color me impressed CWB! Are you now a Peach State resident? Banks County is a little stretch from my comfort zone but not too far.. we lived in Lawrenceville (Collins Hill) for a good while, so I am pretty familiar with Gwinnett County and the Atlanta metro, but we made the move to Milledgeville/ Central Georgia area a few years ago. I am very familiar with the Athens area though.. my nephew just graduated from Prince Avenue and is now at UGA.

Atherton is the best team in the State this year that everyone who only casually knows football probably assumes is not very good.

To be very clear, my info is purely second hand from someone who has watched Belfry football for nearly 50 years and has not watched Raceland save when Belfry has scrimmaged them and when they have played in the State Finals or had a game broadcast against Pikeville. There is bias there.. but it illustrates the old saying "There are three sides to every story, your side, their side, and the truth." I think if anything what we have done is further proved why scrimmage results, especially in a setting like this, need to be left subjective. How can we definitively agree wither team would win a 4 Quarter game with injuries, cramps, and turnovers if both teams admittedly played a lot of different players and worked on specific things? I think the only takeaway from that night that we can put on the table in agreement taking bias out of the equation: - This is a special Raceland team for how well rounded they are. - Belfry is very fast and very skilled. - Raceland looked night and day better in one calendar year at the LOS compared to the same scrimmage format where Belfry folks thought Raceland was non-competitive in this area with essentially the same guys on the field. - This is definitely a beneficial scrimmage partnership. I also feel like if Belfry folks are saying Raceland is a legit 1A Title contender that others should take proper notice. This is coming from a fanbase who knows what a title contender looks like in the mirror, but this is also coming from a fanbase who may be the best source to analyze what the best 1A program looks like because they are painfully familiar with what Pikeville has looked like.

Huh? This is possibly the strongest Belfry has been since Isaac Dixon left? They returned double digit starters each way off a team who went to the State Semi's. If Belfry was getting voted on name they probably would have been ranked most of last year. Why take two years off before applying that principle? As for the Belfry vs. Raceland scrimmage.. I would caution anyone that taking a scrimmage result should be done so with a huge dose of reserve. When it comes to a scrimmage with Belfry I would amplify that even more. Belfry almost exclusively scrimmages in a 10 play format which for a team who prides itself on 12-15+ play scoring drives means you might not be capturing how many scores would actually happen. Additionally Belfry under Haywood and now under Varney truly use scrimmages as a revolving door of players. The report I got from the scrimmage is Raceland definitely deserves to be optimistic because they looked like a completely different team compared to last year, especially at the LOS and they played as if they had something to prove . They had very good balance on offense and should probably be the 1A favorite because their defense was very well coached and pursued the ball well. That same person also believed that if Belfry and Raceland had been playing in a true Week 1 game with Belfry sticking to their starting OLine, DLine, and Backs that they felt confident Belfry would probably be a TD to 2 TD pick.

I hate to say it, but as we sit today Central is way too high. I know they have played two very good teams, but there is a reason they have yet to score a point. In both games they really were not a threat to score at all. I think they only crossed the 50 one time on a drive against Belfry when they weren't aided by a turnover. They lack that big time RB they are used to having, their QB plays very young, and their WR's lack the size and separation you are accustomed to seeing Central get. Defensively they play like a Top 10 team with good size, good speed, and well coached.... but with all the starters they have lost this is also a far cry from some of the nasty defenses they have had in the past. I would probably put Central near the back of the Top 10 simply for the fact I am not sure I can see them scoring more than a couple times offensively against most of these teams until they get some more experience and maturity at their skill spots. Their roster is loaded with Sophomores and Juniors in the starting spots up and down. Dantzler's son and the Cherry kid both will be very good players before they graduate, but right now their entire team is having to learn how to play a high level of football against an absolutely lethal schedule.

Big boy football game! Prior to the season I think I would lean with Raceland by 14-21. Pikeville has exceeded my expectations a little bit. They look sharper on offense and defense than I expected. Ultimately the King of 1A typically comes down to who wins the LOS. Pikeville's recent dynasty has had a lot to credit to how they have simply been next level up front. I think this year Raceland is game for that challenge. I will say Raceland wins 28-14 getting a score in a non-traditional fashion... either a kick return, a defensive TD, or something of the like.

Also I think all of Belfry is holding their breath waiting on news of JJ Austin's injury. Hoping for the best but fearing the worst.

Belfry's defense looked very good Friday. With that said, Louisville Central is really struggling on offense right now. They kind of lack an identity and don't have a back capable of taking the game on their shoulders like they have been accustomed to. This will be a big challenge for Belfry to see if their defense is legit. The Pirates will go as far as their LB's and Safety's allow. The LB's tackled the best I have seen in three or four years but they were getting clean paths to the ball. Johnson Central will be getting helmets to the second level and forcing them to get off the block to make the stop and this is where they have struggled. Belfry's secondary play Friday was superb as they absolutely locked down the Central receivers and the Safeties did a great job cleaning up the pass but more importantly did a great job getting outside and coming up to keep Central from utilizing their speed to make plays. It will be a different task Friday. Johnson Central is going to require discipline and no missed tackles on the second level... but JC will try to dial up a couple deep shots on play action. If Belfry can win the day on Defense I like their chances but it is going to be a big ask. Last year JC carved up Belfry's defense in an Instant Classic shootout. Belfry's speed will be a challenge for JC. The Pirates have a lot to clean up on offense as they left points off the board last week between penalties and execution. I don't expect Central to set the edge as well as Louisville Central and I don't think JC has the speed to get East/West like the Jackets did. Belfry has to keep them off balance by strategically looking for the pass. I have shouted from the rooftops that there is a clear path that Belfry's offense looks it's best and a clear path when I feel like the play calling has been lacking. When Belfry is using the pass as a counter punch or a knockout blow while sticking to a diverse running game bouncing from the pistol to the flexbone and mixing in strategic jet motion they are a tall task to defend. Through the first two games though there has been at least four drives where Belfry has tried to force feed the pass and led with it first.. all four of those possessions has been either three and outs or close to it. Belfry is a team not equipped for handling 3 and Outs well. Too many key players going both ways and field position is huge to any Pirate success. My head says JC wins but my heart says Belfry.. I will go with my heart and say Belfry 34-28.

Defensively I think they will get it together as the year goes. Belfry is a very explosive team.... Central kept them from breaking huge plays and there aren't many teams who can do that. It is very clear they are struggling not having Cortez Stone. The Jackets usually have one if not two backs who can grind you down and then bust the big one once you miss a tackle... I don't see that back right now because of their youth. The Cherry kid has lightning quick agility and acceleration outside, but they also struggle to find a receiver who can create separation. Their inability to sustain drives or break big plays puts their defense in a tight spot and they have some steep ground to climb before I see that changing with the schedule they play.

Belfry's defense showed up in a big way. The Pirates thoroughly controlled this one and the Central offense struggled to string together much of a threat to score or even stack multiple First Downs together. Belfry routinely got good penetration and Central could not establish a running game to get into the 2nd Level. Belfry forced three interceptions. Hunter Hylton was all over the field especially in the First Half. Belfry's offense wasn't all roses, but they were effective. Central did a fantastic job of limiting the big play from Belfry, but Belfry strings together four impressive scoring drives. Belfry showed flashes of dominance when they would mix formations and mix looks... they also had some head scratching moments for the 2nd consecutive week. All in all Belfry kept this one pretty firmly in hand and broke Central's will when it was there to be broken. One negative for Belfry is Senior FB JJ Austin got hurt in the 1st Half on one of those scoring drives and never returned. Dante Davis came in and played great in his absence but hopefully there is nothing too concerning bigger picture. I felt like Belfry's secondary had one of their best performances in a while. They really locked down the Central passing game and had maybe three more INT's in their fingertips. No busts in coverage and they did a fantastic job coming up when Central tried to get outside to use some of their speed. Belfry for all intents looked to be the faster team. Best of luck to the Jackets moving forward. This is a program the Belfry community respects deeply and there couldn't have been a more fitting and worthy opponent on an emotional night where we remember Coach Haywood. The Jackets are very young but have to like what their defense demonstrated most of the night... their offense clearly has been hurt the most by graduation but I have no doubt this proud program will be back in the near future as they reload.

Final from Pond Creek and the Pike County Bowl.

Hugs and handshakes beginning... Belfry taking three knees as expected. FINAL Belfry 28 Central 0

4th and Long Central Central kicks it and it is downed at B31. Expect Belfry to show mercy here out of respect for a rival they respect a great deal.

3:13 in 4th Belfry 28 Central 0

Belfry driving and facing 3rd and 1 at the 21. Woolum makes a man miss and gets up field for the conversion. 3:30 on a moving clock... Belfry 21-0 in 4th Davis takes it in from the 15 yard line TOUCHDOWN BELFRY

Central's defense has played pretty well. They have done an excellent job limiting Belfry's explosive plays... the Central offense though is really struggling to find an identity. They have very good size up front but just don't have the explosive back they are used to relying on, and the passing game just simply is not a threat. Yellowjackets are very young and will get better, but tonight they have struggled mightily to put more than a couple first downs together without either shooting themselves in the foot or seeing their progress come to a grinding halt.

Cayden Varney intercepts the pass and returns it over the 45.

2nd game of a double header.. started around 8:35

Playclock malfunction. Belfry staring down a 4th and three or 4. Belfry opts to punt and pin Central deep. Central returner Cherry does everything he can and gets a nice return to the 35.

Dante Davis running hard gets another First Down to the 47. Davis again for 5 more. Belfry slowing their pace down and eating clock. Davis slants and gets 4. Belfry eating every second.. they go to Ace Caudill on the jet action and he loses yards. 4th Down Belfry. Central has really defended the jet action out of the flexbone very well.