ATLCat

Belfry going to have to start taking some chances on defense or have to start looking for strips on a late whistle or second effort. Both teams are consistently gaining whatever they want. Belfry has made it a little harder on themselves than Bell with a few more mental errors or penalties. They have also gifted Bell great field position on two of their kickoffs. Thomas is a tough cookie but Belfry LBers have been slow to read and when Thomas gets to them they have struggles to bring him down on initial contact.

Belfry 132 rushing Young 17 carries, 134 yards 2 TD Varney 6/10 51 yards Bell County 163 rushing Thomas 18 carries, 140 yards, TD Burnett 3/3 74 yards 2 TD

Half Bell County 24 Belfry 16 Very even Half. Both teams blinked once on 4th Down. Belfry gets the ball out of the Half. Thomas getting plenty of yards but Bell has utilized the passing game when Belfry has actually got them behind the sticks.

2nd and 6 at 10 Burnett hits his man in the back of the end zone for the second passing TD. :18 in 2nd Bell 24-16

Bell into red zone riding Thomas. :23 left

Young into the end zone for a yard out. 2:16 in 2nd 16-16

After a fumble cost Belfry negative yards Pirates facing 4th and 2 at the 10. Young second effort should convert to 1st and Goal at the 6.

Big play Belfry. Bell goes for it on 4th and 1 way on their side of the field and Belfry gets the stop. Belfry inside the Bell 30.

Dre Young 23 yard TD run. Bell 16 Belfry 8

After a 15 yard hurdling penalty negates a first down the Pirates face a 4th and short. END OF 1ST 16-0 Bell.

Bell 16 Belfry 0 1:41 in 1st Big 40 yard pass and then a TD pass inside the 10.

Dre Young to inside the 10. Measurement. Inches short and Bell takes over on the first big stop of the game.

4th and 2 Belfry in redzone 6:09 in 1st still 8-0 Bell.

10:42 in 1st Bell 8 Belfry 0 Bell got great field position then got a 15 yard sideline interference penalty. Thomas scores from 21 yards.

Lawrence is stout in their Front 7 but really lacks a lot of fast twitch muscle fibers or big play ability. Rock needs to execute early. If you let Lawrence hang around they can bite you and they are also well equipped to slow the game down to an absolute crawl with their offense. Noone in the State is hoping for a cold, wet, and sloppy night more than Lawrence County. Rockcastle has the speed and skill to hurt LC, but they need to make sure the Bulldogs are forced to come from behind. Rock 34-20

One thing to look for tonight: This will be the first time Bell County is seeing the "new look" Philip Haywood offense. The Pirates ran almost exclusively out of the pistol last week against Clay County. Sophomore QB Chase Varney is a special talent that Belfry is not used to having. He is a very capable and accurate passer and had he not missed time with an injury, the Pirates could very well be sitting 9-1 right now. He missed both the Pikeville and Southwestern games which in turn meant Belfry's most dynamic offensive threat Caden Woolum had to run the QB position in those games. Belfry has adapted a new look which utilizes jet action, short passes, and the deep threat of Woolum and Ace Caudill in addition to a lot of the same triple option most people associate with a Philip Haywood team.

You can listen to the game through 96.5 WXCC via the Simple Radio app. Hoping Bobby Norman is back calling the game as he was sick last week. If you have never listened to a Pirate game: Belfry has a top notch radio broadcast team with Norman as play by play, Steve Mickey doing color, and Nee Jackson adding stats. They will have some bias as any hometown radio crew does, but they legitimately try to check their baggage as much as possible and give credit and honesty where it is due. Bobby is a pro and they go out of the way to make sure they update score, time, and down/distance as much as possible. To my knowledge noone is doing live video although you might be able to find it on Facebook potentially of someone doing it from the crowd from the Bell County side.

Belfry will struggle to keep Thomas from getting his. Pikeville's Brenden Anthony gave Belfry fits and I think Thomas is a better back right now. The argument is Belfry respected Pikeville's passing game an ancillary threats probably a bit more, but nonetheless, I think it will be hard for Belfry to keep Thomas from getting 200 yards and a handful of scores. On the flip side, Bell's defense has struggled mightily against teams who can distribute the wealth with multiple big play threats. Rockcastle, Boyd County, Whitley County, perry Central, etc.. As long as Belfry holds on to the football and keeps themselves ahead of the chains, Belfry should sustain success in all capacities. Turnovers will be the game changer, but otherwise if all things are equal I think I like Belfry's collection of offensive threats and a defense that has shown at least a resemblance of a team able to get a few stops over a Bell County team who rides their mule until his legs give out and a defense that has only been able to survive at times thanks to their offense. I'll take Belfry by a score in a back and forth and relatively high scoring game. I just think Belfry's overall skill and team speed may be a bit more heavy than Bell having a bonafide Mr. Football candidate.

Final 56-36. Belfry starters did not see the field in the 2nd Half and the Clay 1s put a couple scores on the Belfry 2’s and 3’s.

Belfry Young 7 carries 128 yards Austin 6 carries 53 yards 209 yards total rushing 119 passing yards Clay Co 26 rushing yards Rice 14-26 passing 184 yards Waigers has 7 catches for 144 yards of that

Finally Halftime

Caden Woolum gets his TD back with a 62 yard punt return TD in the longest two minutes in sports history. 56-20 Belfry still not the Half.

Belfry almost with another one score drive but Woolum drops a wide open TD pass. After a false story Belfry scores from 23 yards out. 49-20 Belfry still with a little bit of time in the 2nd.

Belfry with another one play drive. Dre Young 49 yard TD run. Think that is the third one play TD drive of the Half for the Pirates. 1:54 in 2nd 42-20 Belfry

18 yard TD pass to Waigers Belfry 35 Clay 20 2:04 in 2nd