[EKUAlum05]

My prediction:

There is no denying that PC benefited directly from unusually awful Belfry play in the first game.

There is also no denying that Belfry had a similar stretch of football from PC in the 2nd Half that propelled the Pirates to such a convincing come back win...but people overlook that. PC had a blocked FG, several turnovers, and generally fell apart.

The difference in the two is Belfry's were more of the unforced variety (dropped pitches, lose the ball reaching for extra yards, muffed exchanges)... whereas PC's miscues were of the forced variety and the result of defensive pressure by Belfry.

The key parts to take from that game, exclusive of the turnovers:

- Pike Central failed to ever stop Belfry's offense excluding when Belfry stopped themselves.

- Belfry proved they could get several defensive stops against PC, but at the same time PC proved they could definitely score on Belfry and generate offense.

- When Belfry took away the PC running game the passing game struggled as a by-product. This was all about pressure.


Ignoring the turnovers and focusing on those things is where the truth of this game lies.

Belfry 48
Pike Central 28

In a game that is pretty competitive throughout that Belfry puts away in the 2nd Half after making adjustments and wearing PC down. PC adds a late TD.