BELPRE -It didn't take long for Belpre High School sophomore Manney Tullius to make his mark in the annals of running success.
In fact, it took just one play.
Tullius took the first carry of Friday's game 80 yards to the end zone as part of a Golden Eagle ground game that racked up 400 yards on 38 carries as Belpre took a dominating 54-14 victory over the visiting Miller Falcons Friday evening at Ralph Holder Stadium.
"We were just fired up. We wanted this game and we wanted it bad," Tullius said.
Tullius led all runners with 272 yards on just 18 carries while scoring three touchdowns as Belpre had seven different players post positive yardage on the ground, including junior offensive tackle Dakota McDaniel, who swapped out jerseys and got 23 yards on five touches.
"We played good defense and we operated real well on offense. We did a lot of good things (Friday) night," said Belpre football coach Greg Adams.
That began with the opening possession, and didn't stop until the game was well under control.
Belpre scored on six of its first seven possessions, with the only one that didn't result in points coming when the Golden Eagles lost a fumble at the Falcons' 5-yard line.
After Tullius opened the scoring with his 80-yard scamper on the game's first play, Belpre forced Miller into a three-and-out to take possession again.
From there the Eagles promptly marched 73 yards on 10 plays with freshman quarterback Tavian Miller finding the end zone from eight yards out with 6:14 in the first for a 13-0 Belpre lead.
Tullius found the end zone on the next series for Belpre as he scored on a 21-yard run with 2:13 in the first quarter. Overall, Tullius had seven carries of at least 20 yards and all three of his TD runs covered at least that.
"I gotta give it all to my line making holes," Tullius said.
The second quarter was more of the same for Belpre as the Golden Eagles scored 20 points while running just 10 plays.
Miller got the Eagles scoring in the second frame started with a three-yard run after Belpre blocked a Miller punt. That was followed by Tullius scoring on a 46-yard run with 6:06 to play before the break.
Belpre tallied its final score of the first half when Miller connected with senior Tyler Martin on a 35-yard pass with 2:39 to play in the first half.
"On offense it starts with our linemen and on defense you have to tackle well. We did that tonight," Adams praised.
Leading by a comfortable 40-0 margin at the break, the Eagles turned to the reserves and the defense to start the second half, and they too got in the scoring act.
Golden Eagle senior Robbie Postlewaite got Belpre on the board when he intercepted Miller quarterback Garrett Sinift's pass and returned it 51 yards to the end zone for a 47-0 lead after Adrienne Blair's kick.
Much like it did the first half, Belpre took its first official play from scrimmage to the end zone when freshman tailback Matthew Colvin ran 52 yards for the final points for the Golden Eagles.
Miller ruined Belpre's effort at a shutout when Sinift found the end zone from 4 yards out, with the score setup by Kody McKinniss' kickoff return to the Golden Eagles' 36.
The Falcons scored their second touchdown in the fourth quarter when tailback Dustin Spencer plunged in from six yards out with 6:21 to play in the game.
Belpre improved to 3-6 on the season while Miller fell to 1-8.
"I'm proud of my team. I'm glad we came out and executed," Tullius said.
Belpre closes out the season at Waterford next Friday.
