©2005 by Ron Harrison
Henry Clay (0-0) vs. Belfry (0-0) August 20, 2005
Coach Sam Simpson's Henry Clay Blue Devils finished 6-6 last season and return the talent and experience to be a contender in the Class 4A race this season. 6-3 193 pound Sr. QB Salin Simpson threw for over 1300 yards last season Simpson finished up last season with a "monster" performance in a 45-42 playoff loss to Scott County. Simpson had a career game with 252 yards passing and 186 yards rushing. 6-6 255 pound Sr. TE Sam Gardner is being heavily recruited and 240 pound Rod Johnson is expected to shine at both running back and defensive tackle. Jermaine Birch and Chris Hawkins are expected to be key performers on the defensive line.
Coach Philip Haywood's Belfry Pirates finished 14-1 last season and captured their second consecutive Class 2A title. There will be some growing pains this season as they graduated their starting backfield, which was considered the best in school history. Fortunately they return a veteran offensive line and some promising young backs.
Henry Clay utilized a balanced offense (212 yards rushing and 217 yards passing) and a 22-0 scoring advantage in the third quarter to defeat Belfry 43-14. Henry Clay held a 429-306 advantage in total offense with all Belfry's yardage coming on the ground. Henry Clay lost four fumbles while Belfry lost three fumbles and had a pass intercepted. The victorious Blue Devils were penalized 11 times for 104 yards while Belfry was only flagged twice for six yards. Belfry held a 30:03-17:57 advantage on clock possession as a result of their ground pounding style.
Henry Clay was led on the ground by Donte Gay with 93 yards and a 53 yard TD run on seven carries. Salin Simpson added 70 yards on eight carries. Rod Johnson chipped in with 44 yards on eight carries including TD runs of 6,5, and 21 yards. Simpson completed 11 of 17 passes for 190 yards and TD passes of 24 and 46 yards. Aaron Boyd caught three passes for 60 yards. Clark Jeter added three receptions for 52 yards including a TD reception. Chase Minnifield chipped in with three receptions for 37 yards including a 24 yard scoring reception. Case Allin led the Blue Devil defense with five solo and two assisted tackles.
Matt Maynard led Belfry's ground attack with 135 yards and TD runs of 44 and 51 yards on 12 carries. Corey Chapman added 99 yards on 10 carries, and Dustin May chipped in with 44 yards on 15 carries. Justin Gooslin and Aaron Chapman led the Pirate defense with four solo and one assisted
Scoring Summary
| Henry Clay | 43 | Belfry | 14 |
| School | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| Henry Clay | 14 | 7 | 22 | 0 | 43 |
| Belfry | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| HC | - Rod Johnson 6 yard run (Jacob Barney kick) |
| B | - Matt Maynard 10 yard run (Glen Earnest kick) |
| HC | - Johnson 5 yard run (Barney kick) |
| HC | - Johnson 21 yard run (Barney kick) |
| HC | - Chase Minnifield 24 yard pass from Salin Simpson (Simpson run) |
| HC | - Clark Jeter 46 yard pass from Simpson (Barney kick) |
| HC | - Donte Gay 53 yard run (Barney kick) |
| B | - Maynard 51 yard run (Earnest kick) |
Selected Statistics
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| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long | Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long | |
| Donte Gay | 7 | 93 | 13.3 | 53 | Matt Maynard | 12 | 135 | 11.2 | 51 | |
| Salin Simpson | 8 | 70 | 8.8 | 29 | Corey Chapman | 10 | 99 | 9.9 | 54 | |
| Rod Johnson | 8 | 44 | 5.5 | 21 | Dustin May | 15 | 44 | 2.9 | 11 | |
| Marcus Bentley | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 5 | Ivan Lee | 4 | 27 | 6.8 | 12 | |
| Tommy Church | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 4 | ||||||
| Phillip Hickman | 3 | 2 | 0.7 | 2 | ||||||
| Ryan Preston | 5 | -6 | -1.2 | 7 | ||||||
| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long | Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long | |
| Salin Simpson | 17-11-0 | 190 | 2 | 52 | Ryan Preston | 2-0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Patrick Rouse | 4-3-0 | 29 | 0 | 11 | ||||||
| Ryan Phillipi | 4-1-0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long | Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long | |
| Aaron Boyd | 3 | 60 | 0 | 52 | ||||||
| Clark Jeter | 3 | 52 | 1 | 46 | ||||||
| C. Minnifield | 3 | 37 | 1 | 24 | ||||||
| Trey Ware | 3 | 29 | 0 | 11 | ||||||
| Stephon Burton | 1 | 24 | 0 | 24 | ||||||
| Sam Gardner | 1 | 17 | 0 | 17 | ||||||
| Donte Gay | 1 | -2 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
Acknowledgements
A special thanks to WL Stats for the comprehensive stats provided for tonight's game.
Other Games of Interest
Please refer to Week One in Review.
Please send your comments and questions to Ron Harrison at prepgridiron@yahoo.com.
Ron Harrison’s reports on this and other football events appear on https://www.angelfire.com/ky2/prepgridiron.
