Watusi

Since we are being nostalgic, why not.

Here is a video about Couch's season/record. Too many highlights against Belfry, but that was a special moment when he broke the record. Belfry had jumped out to a 20-0 lead in that game, only to see the Eagles come back to win. Notice about the 1:25 mark when Couch broke the record, the game was stopped and the announcement was made. I remember being impressed that every member of Belfry's coaching staff went across the field to shake his hand.

That was an electric night, ESPN was there, helicopters filled the air, it was something else to watch.

100 home wins in just over 13 seasons is not too shabby. (98 in 13 full seasons, 2 this year in 3 games)

That is an average of 7.5 home wins per season, which almost sounds impossible.

Interesting tidbit of info on this win, this was Belfry's 100th win in CAM Stadium.

Since opening in 2005, Belfry is 100-13 in the friendly confines of their home field. Those losses were

Henry Clay '05, '12

Ironton '05

Russell '06

Breathitt Co '08

Ashland '09

Sheldon Clark '09

Prestonsburg '10

Johnson Central '09, '11, '13

Huntington '17, '18

Another notable game in this series was 1995. Pikeville was coached by the legendary Hillard Howard. Philip Haywood was about 10 years into his reign at Belfry. Pikeville had given Belfry a solid beating the year before 42-27. This series was about dead even then.

The week of the Pikeville game, Sept 22, arrived with a lot of rain, and the field at Belfry was a mud bowl. During that time this was the only field available and Belfry shared it with the local grade school, which played 4 games a week, plus JV and Freshman games. There never was much grass on the field to begin with, and all that use made it more of a dirt field, unless it rained, then it was just pure mud (and rocks).

The game was one of those muddy struggles, where neither team really had a lot of success moving the ball. Pikeville was led by their outstanding RB Brent Coleman, and he had their only score of the game in the 2nd quarter, giving Pikeville the 6-0 lead for the rest of regulation.

Late in the game, with under a minute to go, Pikeville had the ball on 4th and short, right about midfield. The Panthers elected not to punt, and went for the first down, which would have sealed the deal. Belfry's defense stopped Coleman short of the first down, and as he got up, he slammed the ball in frustration and received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The 15 yards gave Belfry the ball on the Panther 36 yard line with 34 seconds on the clock.

Belfry threw 3 incomplete passes, and on 4th down, Pikeville was flagged for pass interference. Next play, another pass interference. Then as time expired, a third pass interference call was made giving the Pirates one last play from the 5 yd line with no time on the clock.

Belfry's QB Howard threw a TD to Brad Hatfield and the XP gave the Pirates a 7-6 victory. :banana:

The Panther faithful were not happy, and I heard the officials had to go undercover for a couple of weeks. lol

It is games like this, that REALLY add fuel to the fire of an already intense rivalry. :thumb:

Awesome highlight video! Belfry had a lot of opportunities in that game. Pikeville made them pay for their mistakes. #45 for Pikeville was a solid back.

I think this could be one of the best Belfry/Pikeville games in a long while. I would personally like to see this one be the 5 point super game on our pick 10 contest. I do think Belfry is still just a little better and probably a bit deeper, but would not be that surprised either way.

2014 Pikeville 29 Belfry 20 video highlights.

The first 2:15 or so is hype video, then the game highlights...

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKDmuOtlJkU

Belfry and Pikeville have long been the pillars of football in Pike County, and in Eastern KY, for that matter. The two schools have played each other a total of 57 times. For a long portion of those games, Belfry was 3A and Pikeville was 1A, however the series was very even during those years. Although Belfry has taken a lead in this series, at the end of the 2000 season, the records stood Belfry 19 wins, Pikeville 18 wins, 3 ties.

Since then the Pirates have won 16 of the last 17 games, with the lone Pikeville victory coming in 2014, when they shocked the eventual 3A state champion Pirates 29-20 in a bruising physical contest on Pikeville's home field. Daric Pugh lead the way for Pikeville. See video in next post.

Belfry beat Pikeville the following year to return the favor as both the Panthers and Pirates won state championships in 2015.

Haywood's record vs Pikeville as Belfry's coach is 22-8

McNamee's record vs Belfry as Pikeville's coach is 3-11

Belfry and Pikeville will tee it up this week in one of the longest running rivalries in the mountains.

Belfry has dominated this series since the turn of the century, winning 16 of the last 17. The lone win by Pikeville came against one of Belfry's better teams, though. The Panthers are playing arguably the best football they have played since the good old days, however, and are capable of handing Belfry a loss.

There is lots of history here, lots. These two schools want to beat each other, no matter what the competition. Pikeville week has always been an electric time in the halls of Belfry High School. I'm sure it is the same on Hambley Blvd for the Panthers. Like in a lot of rivalries, you can throw out the records and accolades when these two lace it up and expect just about anything to happen.

Pikeville shocked the Pirates in 2014, can the Panthers do it again?

I don't have the all-time records between the two at hand, but I will try and get them. I'll try to provide some video and commentary on some of the more memorable matchups along the way during this week and hopefully @ATLCat can do the same.

@PurplePride92 @theguru

Can we please ban the use of the phrase "Freddy D"? :ohbrother:

NCC is missing those stud DL guys from the past few years

Wow! Is Kelly playing

No Kelly isn’t playing.

Belfry is resting Mounts and Hensley

@theguru

I’ll send you something new

After a pick 6 it’s 28-6 Belfry 3 min to go in 1st. Belfry defense has been on the field the whole quarter. The Pirates have run 3 offensive plays.

Sept 7-8, Elk Expo at Jenny Wiley Park in Prestonsburg

Eastern Kentucky Elk, Hunting, and Outdoor Expo - Prestonsburg, KY - Festivals & Events, Kentucky

Activities/Vendors include

Hunting Guides

Outdoor Sport Vendors

Demonstrations

Laser Shot Booth

Calling Contest

Elk Tours

Educational Seminars

KY Proud Vendors

Taxidermists

Door Prizes

Handmade Crafts

Antler Scoring

Concessions will include elk & buffalo chili

The best part is the Buffet. Saturday from noon-9pm

Elk Night Buffet - Prestonsburg, KY - Festivals & Events, Kentucky

Menu Consists Of:

Elk Roast- Carved on the Line

Hunter's Chili

Elk Meatloaf

Elk Stew

Fried Chicken

Catfish w/ Hushpuppies

Lyonnaise Potatoes

Shoe Peg Corn

Green Beans

Cream of Potato Soup

Salad Bar

Assorted Appalachian Desserts

Cornbread & Yeast Rolls

Don't forget tonights game time has been moved up to 7 pm instead of the usual 7:30.

Looking forward to the game tonight. Belfry is a little banged up. Hearing that Mounts, Hensley and Barker are all nursing injuries, and may not play for the Pirates.

Any word on whether Kelly is expected to suit up for NCC?

These are still pretty high on my list.

Never underestimate Lexington Catholic.:no:

You're right. Cart before the horse. :thumb:

CHANGE IN STARTING TIME!!

The Belfry and Newport Central Catholic football game will begin at 7 p.m., head coach Philip Haywood announced today.

Pre-game coverage Friday night will begin at 6:45 pm., followed by kickoff at 7 p.m. on WDHR 93.1 FM and on livestream at 93.1 WDHR | Today's Best Country | Pikeville, KY

I hope Boyle County is fortunate to make it to Belfry. I have never visited that stadium and would absolutely love to.

I would almost bet on that matchup being a reality. If it happens it will be a big time atmosphere.

Boyle and Belfry have never played to my knowledge. Correct?

@Bench

Not that I know of. Food City carries some killer Combination meat for sandwiches though. (As well as the redneck trinity of canned meat, Vienna Sausages, Potted Meat and Treet)

Boyle County and Central should be the top two teams in any order. Corbin is better than I thought. We'll learn more about Belfry soon enough. LexCath at 4 or 5 is perfect IMO.

There have been exceptions, but as a general rule, Belfry shouldn't be ranked very high early in the season. They start slow, and are a work in progress. Coach will focus on doing the little things right and build on it, and hopefully have them peak in November. It is by design. Throw in a bunch of inexperience at key positions, and sometimes they will look awful early on, but will be a lot of fun to watch them develop during the year. It is among the best things about being a Pirate fan.

And I agree with your entire post,

Hey Watusi. Coming down for the game. Looking forward to it. Hear it's a great place to play. Any "Can't Miss" places we should eat at before the game??

My advice, eat in Pikeville. There are several good places there. Peking/Hibachi is very good and you can choose between Chinese buffet or Japanese Hibachi (need a reservation for Hibachi). Pig in a Poke is a great bar b que place. Texas Roadhouse is good, but tough to get in on Friday night. Bank 123 in downtown Pikeville is good. And there is 3 or 4 Mexican places. They also have a ton of run of the mill options, like BWW, Applebees, Gattis, Golden Corral, A new Asia buffet (good sushi), etc. And many fast food options. If you wait until you get to Pond Creek, then you have the Steakhouse and Giovannis and fast food. Or you can cross the river and go to Starter's Sports Bar, which has good food, or Smokin Pit Barbecue, which is new but I've heard great things.

What is the status of Kyle Kelly for NewCath. If he is out, this one could get out of hand.

What is the status of Kyle Kelly for NewCath. If he is out, this one could get out of hand.

I do hope Kelly plays, would like to see him in action.