EKU_05

Some things that are very misleading about these stats and comments: 1. When comparing schedules there is a huge disparity between Belfry's and Middlesboro's non-district schedule. Belfry has played a substantially harder schedule, thus the margin of points should naturally be less. 2. Belfry has not lost 2 of 3 close games. The Pirates by my estimation are actually 2-2 with victories over NewCath and Pikeville and losses to SC and Ashland. 3. It is worth noting that Belfry is a pair of missed two point conversions away from being the #1 ranked team in the state. 4. "Their defense couldn't get it done when the other could"... not necessarily..Belfry scored on Ashland on their posession.. and if you want to look at the tape of Belfry/SC they scored on the Cards as well :sssh: (just the officials didn't agree)

If you are goinna call out other people's picks then: "Prestonsburg over Belfry, Boyle over Southwestern, Campbell Co over Ryle" :thumb:

Where are they transferring to?

Belfry, as a team and as fans, are pretty familiar with Middlesboro. They have seen this group of Jackets for three straigt years. Middlesboro has alot of very, very good football players and they have me worried. I feel on the whole, Belfry is a more well-rounded team and have an advantage in the trenches. But, Middlesboro is going to be very, very, very tough to beat.

AND FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!! We will get to see Mercer match-up with a legit Top 10 2A team with some offensive weapons. This is particularly an interesting matchup for me as a Belfry fan because we get to see how good the Mercer D plays against a quality running game, moreso, a very good fullback. The key to this game for Larue IMO is this.... 1. Limit Big Plays- Just like the Russell's and Belfry's of the past three years it is impossible to completely shut down Mercer... and they will inevitably get at least 2-3 big plays. The key is to make sure that it is only 2-3 big plays and nothing more. If larue forces drives instead of quick scores it will work very favorably for them cause... 2. Tick, Tock- Larue's best defense will be their offense. They have got to chew clock and limit the ammount of posessions Mercer gets. 3. Penalties- Larue cannot commit tactical penalties (offsides, false starts, holding).. they need to avoid long yardage situations as much as possbile and cannot bail out Mercer if they are able to contain them.

Male WR Josh Williams is one of the top players in the state in all classes IMO, and I have NO bias towards any 4A team in the state.

On a side note: I want to give some credit where it is due. -Longtime Belfry PA man Steve Phillips, as well as the Belfry administration, gets a big thumbs up from me for what they have been doing the past couple weeks. Belfry recently invested in a top notch PA system and Mr. Phillips has made the most of it. Belfry fans, since moving to CAM, have been nowhere near as vocal and involved. Phillips has went on WXCC radio to encourage fans not only to fill the stands but to be loud, then he has follwoed that up by becoming really involved inactively asking fans to make noise in the game. Last week (at times) was the most active I had seen the fans in quite sometime and it was also one of the best crowds of the year. I fully expect the Pirate faithful to recall how important they were in the 2004 season at Vipperman with their noise and respond this week and hopefully next week. What good is homefield advantage if you don't utilize it?

I am not going to criticize anyone as I do not have a dog in the fight, but I mentioned this after the first Hazard game on here and since then have seen Pikeville on film two more times before the game Friday, the Pikeville offense DEFINATELY had obvious tendacies that allowed you to determine exactly which play they were running 90% of the time. The most obvious was the feet and the head of the motion man... depending on the type of steps and which way he was looking as he went in motion typicallly tipped off which play was coming next. I like Coach Jackson alot, I think he genuinely has a vested interest in his kids and has regained alot of interest in the program. I also like the fact that he took the blame for this loss in Saturday's News-Express. It's just odd that a team who I truly felt had all the physical capabilities of competing for a state title has just been knocked out of the 2nd round by a team that they could/should have beat by at least 4 TD's.

Belfry has a very good run defense as evident in Friday's game against Pburg. Where Belfry has struggled this seasona nd what hurt them against SC was tackling. In the SC game the Pirates constantly were getting clean hits on SC backs in the backfield or at the LOS just to not lock up and allow them to get more yards. This will mark the first time all season that Belfry will be playing a team that IMO has more talent and athleticism at the skill positions. It's also the first time since possibly the Newport Central Catholic game that Belfry will be entering as the underdog in most people's eyes.

Put it this way... Tubby Smith said a similar thing about UK at the SEC media days. Belfry will never truly be under the radar per say... but all season what we have seen is talk about how dominant Mercer and Western was.. then how it was going to be a Mercer vs. Russell championship...WYMT probably has covered highlights of Belfry games a total of maybe 5 times the entire season and have not had their normal rnats and raves about the Pirates and have continually ranked Middlesboro ahead of them. The local sports talk shows around the area have focused on the success of Johnson Central. Meanwhile Belfry has had a very good season against a tougher schedule than any of the top teams left in 2A has played. The Pirates own a win over NewCath who is still chugging along and the defending 1A state Champ, they are healthy, they are dominating teams with their running game, and they have displayed their best passing game in quite some time. They may not be under the radar but they sure aren't plastered in the middle of it with a huge bullseye like they have been the past couple seasons.

When Belfry doesn't make mental mistakes and they execute their offense effectively they are a VERY, VERY good football team. If it is possible to say Belfry is flying under the radar.. this seems to be the year. The Pirates have been battle tested against some pretty good opponents, played in close games, illustrated the ability to utilize a passing game, and have been here before and know what it takes. It's also worth noting just how young this Pirate team is...it is entirely possile that the Pirates won't peak this year due to their youth.

Belfry recovers from a very slow start plagued with mental errors and fumbles to convincingly put away the Blackcats. Corey Chapman was a man posessed tonight..although I found it odd that he had NO carries in the second half after rushing for over 100 yards in the first half as well as returning the half's opening kickoff 85 yards. Dustin May ran well over 100 yards with 3 TD... Ivan Lee played impressively on both side sof the ball. Belfry proved that when they execute effectively that they are nearly impossible to shut down. We have got to have 4 consistent quarters of limtied fumble, no dropped passes, and solid special teams play the rest of the way out.

I am in the same boat as you oneijoe. My information is second hand from someone who is close to the Pburg program but not directly associated with either kid. I certainly hope that not only both can play this Friday, but that both will be able to play up to their full capabilities. Since both are Seniors I am sure they are dying to be on the field no matter what degree their injury is.

Did Wes Hampton play in the first matchup between these two teams? If so, what will the effect of him not being able to play have on this game?

Dustin May- Belfry FB/LB

The injuries are definately true.. but the status of each player is yet to be determined

Heard through the grapevine today that Pburg RB Lincoln Slone is questionable for Friday due to an injured hip suffered in the final moments of last week's game. Also heard the Pburg Center is doubtful due to breaking his hand.

I was thinking the same thing... IMO he is hands down the best FB in Kentucky.. but I am not big enough of a homer to consider him to be in the same league as Beaumont, Anderson, etc in the RB coupling.

From the East: HB Shawn Grimm- Johnson Central LB Michael Tackett- Johnson Central FB Dustin May- Belfry HB Kasey Clark- Russell LINE Brad Durham-Rockcastle County TE Brett Slusher- Bell County WR Drew McDavid- Ashland DB Will Pope- Harlan WR John Cole- Somerset

This year definately... the past couple years... I think that the gap between Boyle and what used to be their region in the late 90's early 2000's has drastically decreased. "Historically" also is a misleading word because the traditions of Belfry and Russell are substantially stronger than Boyle's when looking at the whole picture. I am REALLY hoping the Rebels can get back to where their program was. With the way the community embraces the program, the expectations in place, and the feeder system they have established it shouldn't take too long for them to return to dominance.

Lexington Christian Academy, Garrard County, Boyle County, South Laurel, Casey County, Newport, Spencer County, North Oldham, Lloyd Memorial and Henry County I am willing to venture that the teams Mercer has held under 19 points would also be held under 19 points to the defense of Belfry, Russell, and Trigg County

Per "Weakest District Competition".. I would like to say Let the Westsiding Begin! It's sort of like MTV's Punkd... except on BGP it's "You've been Westsided"

Stop trying to make a stink out of this, oneijoe!

Belfry- WXCC 96.5 Williamson, WV On WXCC's website you can listen to live gamecasts and I must say that the Coal Country crew has dramatically improved into a pretty good play by play unit in the past couple years.

I wonder if we will get to see anymore of the wishbone that featured Lee at FB, May at HB, and your choice of Epling/Chapman at the other HB any the rest of the playoffs. That's alot of power coming at you! I like it as a change of pace, because it makes the offense an entirely different entity to have to scheme for. Now, instead of just having to worry about the normal misdirection, you also have to factor in two monsters coming at you.