Belfry's center stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 241 pounds. But don't be surprised if his teammates call him "Tiny."

Despite his size, Mitch Case is one of the smaller starters on the Pirates offensive line. And that extra mass of flesh has Ironton Fighting Tigers head coach Bob Lutz extra concerned.

"Their size will be a problem for us," Lutz said. "DeSales had a lot of size and that was a factor, and Belfry is bigger overall than DeSales."

Lutz isn't exaggerating. Check out this lineup.

The guards are Jordan Clevenger who is 6-1, 278 and Sammy Reed 6-1, 290 while the tackles are Matt Marcum at 6-3, 260 and either Zack Staton at 6-2, 324 or Josh Cullop at 6-4, 278 on the other side.

Tight end Zane Smith goes 6-3, 214 and Clifton Hatfield tips in at 5-8, 182. Add a backfield that has fullback Gary Childers at 5-11, 203 and halfback Doug Howard at 5-9, 214 and the Pirates aren't lacking for size at any position.

The other halfback is David Jones who is 5-10, 172 and quarterback Paul Howard who is 5-9, 161.

"We can't get locked up with their linemen, especially with their backs," Lutz said. "(Doug) Howard and Jones can both break tackles and they both have good speed if they get into the secondary."

Belfry began the season with an 18-0 loss to Boyd County, but since then the Pirates have rolled off seven straight wins.

Ironton, 8-1 and coming off a lopsided 40-0 loss to Div. III power Columbus DeSales, beat Boyd County 42-7 in a meeting four weeks ago.

"Belfry does the same thing every year. They start slow and then just get better every week. Right now they've got a head of steam going and we have to play them at their place," Lutz said.

The Pirates reverted back to their wishbone offense after trying the spread attack the first game. Defensively, Belfry mirrors Ironton with a 5-2 alignment.

"They just play tough, fundamental football. They're always aggressive and right up in your face," Lutz said.

Phillip Varney (5-8, 238) is the nose guard with Cullop and Michael Hackney (5-11, 180) the tackles and Smith and Hatfield the ends. Doug Howard and Childers at the linebackers. Paul Howard and Jones are the corners with Tyler Bostic (5-9, 184) and Ryan Chapman (5-7, 150) the safeties.

Ironton has already clinched a home playoff game when the postseason begins next week. Still, Lutz doesn't want the Fighting Tigers to look past Belfry.

"We need to play well going into the playoffs. We played a very good team last week, but that's behind us. We need to move on and head into the playoffs on a positive note," Lutz said.