[#55PirateFan]

Man, where do I start. Can't tell you guys how happy I am right now that my Pirates are the 2019 3A State Champions. Kinda bitter sweet though. Even though we won, it was also Big E's last game of high school football but what a ride it has been! He started his high school career with a state championship as a freshman and ended it with another one last night as a senior. Very blessed and thankful that it worked out that way for him. Not many get to experience a championship let alone two. And its also been a pleasure to have been able to share his experience along the way with you guys on here. ALL of you have had nothing but good things to say about him and have given him some high praise and I thank you.

As for the game, first and foremost I want to congratulate the Bell County Bobcats on a very impressive and successful performance and season. The Bell County Bobcats were the real deal. Hats off to the Bobcats for blocking out all the negativity, playing who was in front of them, taking it one game at a time, getting better every day, and had an outstanding season. Congratulations, you guys have nothing to be ashamed about and you absolutely deserved to be at Kroger Field playing for the championship. I was really impressed with your team.

HOW BOUT THEM PIRATES! I can't remember the last time a Pirate team has faced this much adversity in a season. Man this was a rough, nerve racking, roller coaster of a year. We were injury ridden from day one and really didn't get healthy until right at playoff time. But this team just kept fighting. They had the "next man up" mentality and come out every Friday night and played with who they had available and took it one game at a time. They just kept working, believing, grinding, and moving forward until all the pieces fell into place. And it couldn't have come at a better time than days before playoff time.

Once the playoffs started, this was a totally different team. It became the team we all thought we had. After the Pirates got past the district games of the playoffs they went on a tear, playing all the top teams in 3A. First they faced #4 Ashland and put a running clock on them. Next up was #2 DeSales who had one of the best defensive fronts in the state and they went out to Louisville and won a game nobody expected them to win. Then came the #1 ranked Bell County Bobcats at Kroger Field where the Pirates topped off the up and down year by winning the 3A State Championship. Beating the #1, #2, and #4 ranked teams in a three week span is pretty damn impressive to say the least seeing as how by midseason alot of people, including some Pirate fans, had all but written this team off as finished. WOW is all I can say.

This team went from being the preseason 3A favorites to losing two games in a row close to midseason and being wrote off and pretty much overlooked and getting blowed out at home in the season finale to getting healthy and making a complete turnaround and becoming the most dangerous team in 3A and finishing it off with the schools 7th State Championship. I had so many gray hairs sprout on my head that I finally just started shaving it. But I'll tell you this, in the four years my son has played at Belfry, this year by far, was my favorite. I wouldn't change a thing.

The Pirates will graduate some really good football players here in a couple months but there's not a doubt in my mind that Belfry will make the changes needed, fill the holes, and be right back in the mix come this time next year like they always do. Good luck to all and God Bless!