CARBONDALE ? Baldwin High’s football offense hasn’t needed much help scoring this season, but Santa Fe Trail helped the Bulldogs anyway.

The Chargers (1-6) had eight fumbles Friday, including six in the first half, and the Bulldogs rolled to a 62-14 rout in the Class 4A district opener for both teams.

“We knew going in that we’d have to play awfully, awfully well to compete,” SFT coach Dave Watkins said. “When you give a team like that such a short field so many times, it’s gonna bite you.”

The Bulldogs (6-1) bit early and often, starting five of seven first-half drives from inside the Charger 40-yard line. Baldwin racked up six touchdowns in the half, most of which came after recovering SFT fumbles.

The Chargers didn’t earn a first down until the 8:25 mark in the second quarter. The Bulldogs didn’t punt until 2:30 remained in the half.

“They kind of had the turnover bug tonight, and we did a good job of capitalizing,” Baldwin coach Mike Berg said. “They’re a young team. They just made some mistakes. Everybody’s been through that. We’ve been through that.”

Baldwin lost five fumbles in a 28-20 loss to Paola — the Bulldogs’ only defeat this season.

“You gotta take care of the football,” Berg said. “If you don’t, it could come back to haunt you.”

BHS senior running back Micah Mason gave the Chargers nightmares, rushing for 147 yards off 18 carries, scoring four touchdowns and recovering a fumble for a score before Berg took him out early in the third quarter.

“He’s a great back,” Watkins said. “He’s shifty, he’s fairly elusive, plus he runs with power.”

Mason said Baldwin knew it had to make plays in district games.

“We started assessing ourselves and what we needed to do to get ready for the playoffs,” Mason said.

BHS senior fullback Kyle Flory, who recovered a fumble for a 37-yard TD late in the first quarter, doesn’t want his team to lose focus.

“We did a pretty good job on the field,” Flory said. “I just hope we don’t get big heads.”

Baldwin will play host Friday to K.C. Ward, while Santa Fe Trail will travel to Perry-Lecompton.