Watusi

Head says Pikeville but heart really wants Raceland to win.

One of my favorite things of every week during football season. I usually catch the podcast on Friday mornings as well. Keep it coming Coaches...

My favorite feature is the ability to see the history between two teams. I only recently discovered it and I really like that. When you are looking at a team's schedule, or on the weekly scoreboard list of game, there is a symbol on the far right column showing two arrows pointing in opposite directions. Click on that and you will see all the history between those teams going back to 1998. For example if you want to see the history between Betsy Layne and Prestonsburg, click the arrows, and you will see the following... (Nevermind that I highlighted Floyd Central instead of Prestonsburg, LOL, you get the idea)

Cue the “magic number” discussion. ?

It’s not a game day issue and certainly not recent at all. It goes deeper; inter county life.

Yes. Pikeville. 100%

This guy right here...

Southwestern @ Belfry EKU @ UK - Go Big E !

It certainly puts that thought in mind. I didn’t see any of the Pikeville - JC game but I have a hard time imagining Pikeville staying within 3 TDS of LCA.

Trust me, it surprised me too. I did have a former coach tell me this week he had seen JC and he thought Belfry would beat them. But I was not ready to believe it, and nobody expected the margin. Belfry was a missed 2 pt conversion from putting the running clock on, and that is just unfathomable.

That is the story of this game. I know JC was missing some skill guys, but Belfry controlled the game up front in the trenches on both sides of the ball. The OL had their way with JC's DL, but more impressively to me was the way the defensive front 7 really beat JC physically. I think at the half JC had one first down.

For week one the Bucs looked pretty good. Offense showed some new wrinkles and looked very cohesive. No turnovers and no punts by the first team, very few penalties. Depth is an issue, especially in the secondary. Losing Caden Varney is a blow. Not to mention it was on a blind cheap shot 40 yards away from the play. ? Young guys are going to have to grow up quick. Should be fun to watch. The competition level gets tougher the next few weeks. Iron sharpens Iron.

Go Rams!!!?

Great start to the season, I really enjoyed the podcast. What a wealth of knowledge and stories between Coaches Buchanan, Smith and Haywood. Coach Haywood is a great interview. He is a top notch coach, and a better person. He is the type of guy you need your kids to be around, and if he never won another game, I would want my kid to play for him. Best high school stadiums? Putnam ranks high for me. Obviously I am partial to Belfry. Boyle's atmosphere is incredible. I love the setting at Hazard. I haven't been to the Briar Patch since the new turf went down, but it was rocking the night I was there. There is just too many to list but these came to mind immediately.

That was a classic. Regional finals at Belfry in the worst field conditions imaginable. 6" of mud. Breathitt went on to beat Russell in the semis and then destroyed Corbin in the finals behind the strong arm of Justin Haddix.

The short answer is both of the past two years. Belfry has had huge concerns early in the season. The Pirates never really start strong, they have a "get a little better each day" philosophy and they try to peak in November. But through the first 5 games of 2021 and 2022 they have a 2-8 record, and that is not typical. Neither is getting blown out in round 2. Looking forward to seeing if that improves.

Some random thoughts. I am really glad football season is here, finally!!!!! This class will be fun to watch. CAL is definitely the favorite but Central and LexCath are instant upgrades. I don't know much about Lloyd. Belfry will have to prove it to me before I would rank them that high, especially this early in the season and after they lost some players to transfer. I think Lawrence County will be the favorite in their own district. Looking at this ranking, there's a lot of interesting games on the slate for this week in the top ten.

Yes please pray for this community. Cory’s death was felt heavily in the area. There’s not one person who didn’t know him, his family or his wife’s family. For example we attend church with his parents, we’re neighbors with his wife’s parents and he was a former student of my wife. Senseless, sad and tragic display of cowardice.

Actor: Clint Eastwood Entertainer: Brad Paisley or Hank Jr

The reality is, Belfry is not the same level as the teams from 4-5 years ago and it is understandable why they may be looking for something else. That is not easy to admit, but I get it. Ultimately as a fan I am glad they filled that week 3 spot with JC, but I am not sure it helps them much. And for the record, Southwestern was always week 4, even when they were looking for another week 3 opponent. Belfry had week 3 and week 8 open and were looking for a game for either week. I don't know how much interest they received but it sounds like from your post they told JC they were looking for another opponent, but still might play JC week 3. And that is where they ended up. Maybe I am misreading your intent, but I don't see the contradiction there that you seem to be suggesting.

Big congrats to Coach Buchanon. A proven leader/winner and someone who is very well respected in Ky HS Football circles. Great hire by AC.

That is the question on everyone's mind. I have no idea what the staff at Belfry will elect to do, but my gut says they will stay in the assigned 2A. Do you really think Pike Central, Floyd Central (or Martin Co, Betsy Layne, etc) would elect to play up?

Belfry has lost a lot of students in recent years. According to the data released, current overall is 531 and 259 boys. Comparatively Russell is 669 and 332.

This game may feature the youngest combined lineups in the state. At times Belfry has had up to 7 freshmen on the field. that's just unheard of.