The Bremen High School football team made sure the outcome was never in doubt with a quick start on offense and a smothering defense that set the tone for a 43-8 win against visiting Mt. Zion on Friday at Bremen Athletic Field.

And according to Blue Devil junior Matt Parker, that strong performance was just what Bremen needed after it squandered a 21-0 lead in a 35-28 loss at Darlington a week earlier.

“After the loss last week, we knew we had to come in and get a good win on our shoulders because the one last week was rough,” Parker said.

After Blue Devil senior Alex Eriquezzo recovered an onsides kick attempt by the Eagles on the first play of the game, Bremen marched 52 yards in nine plays, capped by a 3-yard Sam Murphy touchdown run that with Josh Golden’s extra point made it 7-0 with 8:50 remaining in the first quarter.

It didn’t take the Blue Devils long to get on the board again, as a 29-yard touchdown pass from Brent Copeland to Jake Cash and another Golden extra point made it 14-0 with 3:56 left in the opening quarter.

After the Eagles’ second three-and-out of the night, Jake Cash partially blocked Christian Heard’s punt, which Parker scooped up and ran 12 yards for a touchdown and a 22-0 edge after Eriquezzo hit Spencer Ward with a pass for the two-point conversion with 2:26 remaining in the first quarter.

“(Assistant) coach (Tim) Hanegan said I looked like a glacier running,” Parker said. “But I thought I was going pretty fast.”

That would be more than enough scoring to win on a night when Bremen (4-3, 2-1 Region 6-A) held Mt. Zion (1-7, 0-4 Region 6-A) to negative three yards of total offense and no first downs in the first half.

“It was obvious. I mean, we didn’t show up (Friday). We didn’t block. We didn’t tackle,” MZ coach Bill Bailey said. “You know, Bremen ran up and down the field on us.”

But the Blue Devils weren’t done yet. Nick Cash scored on a 4-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter, and Eriquezzo added a touchdown run from inside the 1-yard line. Those two scores, along with two more Golden extra points, pushed it to 36-0 with 4:38 left in the first half.

For Eriquezzo, who was earlier expected to miss the whole season with a health issue but was playing in his third game, the score was a special moment.

“I felt like I was on top of the world for a second,” Eriquezzo said. “I wanted to just kind of do a Heisman dance for a little while or something.”

Blue Devil coach Ricky Tolleson was proud to see his senior leader get that chance to score.

“It was just a great opportunity for him to go in and be a big part of the win,” Tolleson said. “And every player on our team was celebrating when he scored, and it was just special for him.”

An Eagle three-and-out later, Nick Cash broke down the left sideline for a 59-yard touchdown run on the first play of Bremen’s next drive, as Golden’s extra point made it 43-0 with 2:54 still remaining in the half.

The Blue Devils’ younger players played the second half, and Mt. Zion got on the board with a 13-play, 79-yard drive extended by an 11-yard fourth-down pass to Drew Norton and a Heard touchdown run from inside the 1-yard line two plays later with 6:48 left in the game. Heard then hit Norton with a pass for the two-point conversion, cutting it to 43-8 and finishing the scoring.

Christian Prichard led the Bremen rushing attack with 95 yards on seven carries, and Nick Cash had five carries for 86 yards and the two scores.

Blue Devil freshman quarterback Sean Stassie had five carries for 41 yards in the fourth quarter.