Mexico had not one but two golden opportunities on Friday night.

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On a night where Homecoming had a “Wizard of Oz” theme, the Bulldogs had a yellow brick road laid out for them in the first quarter in the form of two lost Marshall fumbles on kickoffs, turning them into touchdowns and eventually a 49-13 victory. Mexico (2-2, 1-0 NCMC) had a 27-0 lead over its North Central Missouri Conference foe after the first quarter.

“I knew by then we had it,” DeMint said. “We set the tone on the very first kickoff.”

Head coach Steve Haag said he recalls there being back-to-back turnovers on kickoffs in a game before but on onside kicks. These were normal kickoffs so it was a strange start to the game.

Mexico didn’t waste these opportunities in touchdown drives capped by a four-yard run by Korbyn Dorsey and a 31-yard touchdown pass from Charlie Fisher to Tyson Carr. Fisher and Carr would connect on a nine-yard touchdown for a 34-0 lead in the second quarter. Haag said it was a much better first half for Mexico offense than the previous two weeks.

“A few years back, we used to onside every kick so there were a couple times we got a couple in a row, but that was planned,” Haag said. “Points off turnovers are huge, and you don’t ever expect to get that on a kickoff and we got two of them. I’ve been really happy with how our defense has played and said, ‘We have to help our defense, offense, and score some points.’”

The Bulldogs made sure there was a positive moment for the receiving team on special teams when Drew DeMint returned a punt for 65 yards for a touchdown to end the first quarter with a 27-0 Mexico lead. It was already the second time DeMint had a touchdown go for at least 60 yards since he took a pitch and ran it in from 61 yards out.

DeMint has been effective in space for the Bulldogs so he uses that speed to run it outside frequently. Haag said that is where Marshall (0-4, 0-1 NCMC) was directing Mexico’s offense as the Owls keyed in on the option inside.

“They wanted to take away our option and did inside,” Haag said. “We were able to get outside with the sweeps. (DeMint) and Korbyn (Dorsey) going outside helps. We’re calling the play based on where we are on the field – wide side depending on where it is – and then they take advantage.”

Fisher threw for 60 yards and three touchdowns on 6-for-7 passing, and Carr caught two touchdown passes and gained 67 yards on four receptions. DeMint recorded a 100-yard rushing game with five carries for 102 yards, running for two of his three touchdowns.

“First I would give credit to my running back, my right tackle and my receiver,” DeMint said. “They were blocking perfectly for me. I just had to find the hole and bounce it out. That’s really it.”

Marshall quarterback Chase Thompson broke free for a couple of touchdowns runs. The Owls put together a scoring drive at the end of the first quarter for a 42-7 Mexico halftime lead and had another score near the end of the third quarter.

Haag said Mexico was able to get after the quarterback near the end of the game, even picking up a few sacks. He said those defensive adjustments should have been made sooner, but it was an overall good game for the defense.

“Early on, we were playing man defense,” Haag said. “We said ‘We’re going to force you to throw the ball,’ and it worked early. Later, they started running guys off because we were playing man and saw the quarterback get outside a few times. Then we talked about getting out of man to have that contain guy.”

For Mexico to have decisive victories like Friday, Haag said playing tough competition like the last few weeks at Southern Boone and Odessa is necessary. Those both resulted in losses where the Bulldogs couldn’t effectively move the ball on offense, but Haag said there was much to be happy about on defense. Two weeks ago at Southern Boone, he said injuries kept Mexico off-balance.

Haag said Mexico will definitely be tested against a quality opponent next week as the Bulldogs continue their conference schedule at 7 p.m. Friday at Hannibal (2-2, 1-0 NCMC), who won 60-0 at Fulton last week.

“I don’t know if we played worse against Odessa or worse against Southern Boone,” Haag said. “We moved the ball better here than at Southern Boone, and early at Odessa, we didn’t move it at all. We played good defensively at Odessa and against Southern Boone, but we had a couple breakdowns here and there.”