Legendary Belfry head football coach Philip Haywood and his staff have faced some big decision throughout the years.
Friday night was arguably the biggest in Haywood’s 45 years on the sideline.
The Pirates trailed Louisville power DeSales by a single point in the second overtime when they were lining up for the potential game-tying PAT kick from Grayson Cook.
The Colts called time out to give him time to think about it.
It gave Haywood and his staff time to think about it as well. The season came down to one final play.
Junior running back Isaac Dixon, who carried only seven times for 70 yards, took the pitch from quarterback Brett Coleman and followed the led block of running back Ben Bentley, sprinting past the DeSales defense into the corner of the end zone for the game-winning two-point conversion run and the Pirates stunned the Colts, 15-14, in double-overtime before a standing-room-only crowd at Paul B. Cox Stadium.
The Pirates, now 10-3, will face undefeated Bell County (14-0) for the championship next Friday night at Kroger Field in Lexington. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
After the two teams battled to a 0-0 tie in regulation, Belfry took the lead on running back Peyton Hensley’s seven-yard run in the first overtime. Cook’s kick made it 7-0. Hensley finished with 111 yards on 26 carries.
DeSales pulled even when James Johnson ran 10 yard on the first play and Blake Given’s kick tied it.
The Colts took the lead at 14-7 on quarterback Demarcus Avery’s one-yard run in the second extra period. Givens kick was good.
Belfry, facing fourth and goal from the one, pulled within one on Hensley’s one-yard score.
The Pirates are making their 14th state championship game appearance. Belfry returns to the finals for the first time since winning four straight titles from 2013-2016.
At Louisville
(Class 3A state semifinals)
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
BF (10-3)….0 0 0 0 (7) (8) – 15
DS (11-3)….0 0 0 0 (7) (7) – 14
Scoring:
First Quarter
None
Second Quarter
None
Third Quarter
None
Fourth Quarter
None
First Overtime
BF – Peyton Hensley, 7-yard run (Grayson Cook kick)
DS – James Johnson, 10-yard run (Blake Givens kick)
Second Overtime
DS – Demarcus Avery, 1-yard run (Blake Givens kick)
BF – Peyton Hensley, 1-yard run (Isaac Dixon run)
Next up: Belfry (10-3) vs. Bell County (14-0), Class 3A state championship, Kroger Field, 7 p.m., Dec. 6.