JOSHUA BALL

For the Daily News

GOODY, Ky. — Pikeville head coach Ben Howard knew it was going to be a long night when Belfry’s stable of fullbacks started to run at ease.

Actually, the Bucs ran wild.

Real wild.

Belfry rolled up 320 yards rushing en route to a lopsided 54-20 win over county-rival Pikeville Friday night at CAM Stadium.

The Pirates (4-2) won for the third straight time and notched its fourth win in five games. The victory also marked the ninth consecutive win over Pikeville.

“I’m really pleased with the effort our kids gave on the field,” Belfry head coach Philip Haywood said. “We are not where we need to be, but our kids demonstrate a great work ethic each day and we are slowly getting to where we want to be.”

Belfry shook off a sluggish start and began to create a cushion when sophomore fullback Gary Runyon plowed in from 3 yards out with 5 minutes, 20 seconds left in the third quarter to go ahead 21-6.

The Pirates’ defense set up another score when they stuffed Pikeville running back Ross McCoy on a fourth-and-short.

S 29-yard catch by Corey Charles set up a 3-yard TF run by senior running back Chase Maynard with 1:50 left in the half to give Belfry a 27-6 lead at the break.

Maynard finished with 78 yards on eight carries.

Haywood said the two quick scores late in the second quarter allowed his team to establish some rhythm.

“We made some big plays on defense, and I was especially pleased with how aggressive our secondary played,” he continued. “As the game went on, I thought we started to play much better.”

Belfry did just that.

The Bucs added three touchdowns in the third quarter, including a 56-yard TD scamper by junior fullback Nathan Carroll, to extend their lead to 48-6.

Carroll had a breakout game, finishing with a team-high 108 yards on just six carries.

Pikeville, which defeated Allen Central (34-24) last week to keep its district championship hopes alive, scored late in the game when senior quarterback Blake Branham hit sophomore receiver Randy Maynard on a 20-yard TD strike at the 4:32 mark.

Branham completed 8-of-23 pass attempts for 139 yards and three interceptions. Maynard led the Panthers in rushing with 66 yards on 10 carries. Taylor Ratliff led all receivers with 72 yards on four receptions. He also scored on an 85-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter.

“This is just frustrating,” said coach Howard, who is in his first year at the helm of Pikeville’s program. “We stayed in the game for a while, but we didn’t make the stops on defense and we dropped too many balls and made too many other mental errors.”

Belfry’s Timmy Lovern scored a pair of touchdowns, including a 28-yard scamper that rounded out the scoring with 11:18 left in the game. Senior Thomas Varney had 3 yards on seven carries, including a 9-yard TD.

Belfry travels to Pike County Central on Oct. 9 in a key district matchup with the Hawks, while Pikeville returns to district play on the road at South Floyd on Oct. 9. Each game is set for 7:30 p.m.