When Ashland Blazer won the toss and elected to receive it lit a fire under Belfry which turned into a raging inferno at CAM Stadium on Friday night.
The Pirates scored on all four of their first-half possessions and went on to scorch the Tomcats, 41-7, to win its first regional championship since 2016.
Belfry, now 9-3, will journey to Louisville DeSales next Friday night to face the Colts with a berth in the Class 3A state championship on the line.
Running back Ben Bentley led a bone-jarring ground attack with 139 yards on 12 carries while Isaac Dixon added 89 yards and one rushing score on 11 rushes and hauled in a 76 yard pass for another.
Peyton Hensley finished with 84 yards on 13 rushing attempts and three first-half touchdowns as the Pirates built a 28-0 lead at the break.
Quarterback Brett Coleman was 3-for-3 passing and 86 yards.
Isaiah Birchfield’s 41-yard interception return for a touchdown with 5 minutes, 19 seconds left in the third period pushed the lead to 41-0 and a running clock.
At Goody
(Class 3A regional championship)
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
AB (10-3)….0 0 0 7 – 7
BF (9-3)….14 14 13 0 – 41
Scoring:
First Quarter
BF – Peyton Hensley, 1-yard run (Grayson Cook kick), 4:51
BF – Isaac Dixon, 76-yard pass from Brett Coleman (Grayson Cook kick), :02
Second Quarter
BF – Peyton Hensley, 2-yard run (Grayson Cook kick), 6:20
BF – Peyton Hensley, 1-yard run (Grayson Cook kick), :29
Third Quarter
BF – Isaac Dixon, 6-yard run (run failed), 6:36
BF – Isaiah Birchfield, 41-yard INT (Grayson Cook kick), 5:19
Fourth Quarter
AB – J.T. Garrett, 35-yard pass from Jake Gregg (Ethan Slone kick), 11:40
Next up: Belfry (9-3) at Louisville DeSales (10-3), 7:30 p.m., Nov. 29.
PHOTO CREDIT: Randy White/ANE