ARIMO - Marsh Valley quarterback Philip Hansen threw just one pass during the Eagles' home opener against Malad on Friday, dropping back only one other time and subsequently running the ball after it slipped from his hands in the backfield and he picked it up.

Despite knowing its opponent was going to run the ball play after play and putting nearly every defender in the box on every down, 2A Malad was unable to stop 3A Marsh Valley, and the Eagles pounded the Dragons 39-8.

Malad's sole score came when the Eagles, already up 33-0 with 5:40 left in the third quarter, attempted a 32-yard field goal. A bad hold led the Marsh Valley kicker to boot the ball into the line of scrimmage.

Malad senior Caleb Bennett picked up the ball at his own 15-yard line and ran it 85 yards for a touchdown with many of the Eagles players seemingly unaware it was still a live ball.

Marsh Valley coach Jason Taylor assumed the blame for one his team's few miscues.

"It's really on me," he said. "I need to make sure these guys know it's a live ball."

He said the situation was similar during the game's opening kickoff when Marsh Valley players simply watched the ball bounce around as they would have on a punt, not realizing it too was a live ball.

But those two errors on special teams were the Eagles' only glaring shortcomings Friday night. For a team boasting just 19 players, Marsh Valley seemed well equipped for the game.

"I feel good about the way they played," Taylor said. "Some of these kids didn't get a play off all night. That's hard to do."

Among those players was Keith Lolofie, who played center on offense and tackle on defensive. Lolofie appeared no worse for the wear when early in the second quarter, he grabbed an interception and ran it back about 10 yards.

As Dragons quarterback Kaden Goddard moved toward the line of scrimmage with the pocket collapsing around him, he cocked his arm back only to have the Eagles' Dallen Bills hit it and send the ball a few feet in the air and a few yards forward where Lolofie pulled it down.

"That was crazy," Lolofie said. "I was just thinking I need to make a play, I need to keep the momentum going. I saw it in the air and grabbed it."

The robust Lolofie said once the ball was in his hands, he started running, getting some help from teammates who were pushing him from behind to keep the momentum going forward.

Although it ended with a lopsided score, Malad could have easily ended up scoring on its first two possessions of the game, failing to get through an Eagles' goal-line stand on the first possession and throwing an interception into the end zone on the second.

Malad had first-and-goal from the Marsh Valley 3-yard line during its first possession, but the Eagles came up big on all four downs.

Taylor said his team never underestimated Malad's capabilities, even during halftime when it was up 26-0.

"They knew they still had to come out and play," Taylor said. "Malad can come out and score pretty quickly."

Marsh Valley did a little quick scoring of its own to open the second half when senior running back Dylan Bybee took the ball 80 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the third quarter.

Bybee had a monster game, racking up 202 yards on 19 carries and scoring four touchdowns. His last carry came with 4:42 left in the third quarter, however, when he was tackled awkwardly for a 9-yard loss and hurt his left knee.

It was about three or four minutes before he was helped off the field, unable to put any pressure on his left leg. By the end of the game he was walking around on the sideline but saw no further action.

"We are going to ice it tonight and send him to the doctor in the morning," Taylor said of Bybee's injury.

Marsh Valley (1-0) hosts Salmon next week. Malad (0-1) has its home opener next week when it hosts Firth.