[EKUAlum05]

IMO the 05 team was better than the 06 team due to Matt Maynard's speed and the all-around ability of Aaron Chapman. He was big number 30, who dominated Russell almost by himself in the second half. You are right that the games were tossups. Most people look back at the 05 year as a "transitional" year, from the Jones and Howard era, rather than a "down" year. It's funny, but most Pond Creekers still say that Belfry was "one motion penalty away" from three titles in a row.

Yep, Belfry had scored what was to be the game winning TD on that illegal motion call when the back barely flinched. But he did flinch and that's what matters. Conversely Russell also could dispute fairly easily that Belfry deserved to win that game as Matt Maynard stripped Jones after a loooong run in the first half that should have put the Devils up 27-0 going into the half. That was an odd game. Belfry's defense was night and day between the two halves, and I still remember Belfry fumbling the ball numerous times on a key scoring drive only to continue to recover it. I also think Haywood learned about going to the well too many times with the INT by Kasey Clark to seal the game.

Russell fans how would you compare this Devil team to that '05 squad? This Belfry team has some similarities to that '05 Belfry team, but they are much stronger and experienced at QB, deeper at RB, and a little better on the line. Thomas Varney and Matt Maynard have alot of similarities in their ability to take over the game from any spot on the field at any time. Defensively the two Belfry teams are pretty comparable IMO.