[skully03]

So I am have found closure on this game and thouh it stings to see Belfry come up just short once again, it is time to close the book on a fantastic 2012 season and look forward to 2013.

First and foremost this edition of Belfry is one of the favorite squads I have followed all-time. They overcame adversity and injuries and improved dramatically from the Henry Clay game when questions abound about if they had what it took to even get past the Regional Finals. This departing Senior class is the first squad to ever reach 3 State Finals, and they will forver be associated as the blue collar group.

LB's Ghormley and Messer had nearly 1000 combined tackles in their career. Think about that for a moment. Neither will be known as the fastest, biggets, or most athletic LB...but they brought their lunch pale every week and was the heart of one of the best Pirate defenses I could remember.

Tony Messer is what Belfry football is all about. This guy could have been a stat stuffing monster on other teams on either side of the ball. Instead he played within the system and played as unselfish as possible while acting as a leader and mentor for the young Pirates to look up to. His physicality and ability to make the clutch play will be sorely missed.

Zack Thacker and Josh Robinson were th consumate "other guys" their entire career. Thacker was always the CB teams tried to pick on. He had his fair share of hard lessons that came from this, but as we saw yesterday he grew from that and became a damn fine CB. Robinson, like Messer, is the guy who does the small things. He didn't see much action on offense, but he was the glue guy who did the small things such as blocking and making the tough catch. On defense Robinson became the silent assasin in the secondary Belfry could depend on to make a big play.

The place Belfry will be hit the hardest though is on the O-line. Jude, Willis, Taylor, and May came together to become one of the toughest Belfry OL's of all time. Pirate fans will always remember the absolute domination they put on Breathitt County and Bourbon County in the playoff run, where they left little doubt as to what the Pirate's fate would hold.

I know I am forgetting others, but to all the Seniors, on behalf of the Pond Creek Nation...we are proud of you and thank you for your tireless efforts to take the program to the next level.

Belfry is going to be very talented at the skill positions next season.... in terms of shear skill level this may be the largest return of playmakers I can remember aside from 2004... but that means nothing if they don't put in the effort to get stronger and faster and work on their timing so that ankle tackle or shoestring tackle that stopped them this season does not do so next year. For those young men with the dubious task of having to become the next crop of Pirate Linemen or Linebackers... your shoes to fill are large.

I hope Justin Johnson is able to return for his Senior season, and am excited to see what the future holds.

Well said EKU, well said.