Carried by the defense, the Wekiva Mustangs recorded a much needed 14-0 victory against the Eustis Panthers on Friday.

The victory was the first of the season for the Mustangs after three losses to start the season. Eustis’ record is now 1-3 as well.

“I’m happy for the team,” Mustangs coach Doug Gabriel said. “The commitment and desire to improve has not been seen in the outcomes, However, the effort required to win has not been lacking from the players and coaches. The players deserve this win and getting the first win removes some of the pressure felt.”

Wekiva seized all the points needed to win on a fumble recovery with 32 seconds remaining in the first quarter. However, the end result of the play was a fumble recovery in official statistics only. Neither player touching the ball lost control of it.

Wekiva’s Ja’Codi Parker was in the midst of sacking Panthers quarterback Aree Johnson in the end zone from the left side. While falling to the ground though, Wekiva’s Anthony Bello encircled Johnson from the right side. The ball was then ripped out of Johnson’s hands as Bello tackled him.

Parker was credited with a 1-yard fumble recovery touchdown, and Wekiva had 8 points on the board as the first quarter ticked down.

The Mustangs scored their second and final touchdown less than a minute before halftime. Jaden Saint George rushed for 4 yards and bulled the ball into the end zone behind the middle of the offensive line.

Improving their field position helped the Mustangs take the lead in the first place. Four of the five Wekiva possessions during the first half began no worse than the Wekiva 45-yard line.

During each of their first three games, the Mustangs had only one possession that began beyond the team’s 30-yard line. Opponents’ possessions also began on Wekiva’s side of the field 75 percent of the time during each of three previous first halves.

In Friday’s matchup, only one Panther possession during the first half began on the Mustangs’ side of the field.

Wekiva created the advantage in starting field position between the exchange of first possessions. The Panthers’ punt traveled eight yards compared to 38 for the Mustangs. Wekiva drove from the Wekiva 44-yard line to Eustis’ 16-yard line, securing the advantage. Every snap taken between the 8:26 mark of the first quarter and halftime was on the Panthers’ side of the field.

Self-inflicted mistakes, a fumble and two interceptions prevented Wekiva from turning the excellent starting field position into a larger lead at halftime.

However, securing the victory during the second half required the defense to up its impact. Eustis began five of the six possessions in the second half on Wekiva’s side of the field. The first three Panther possessions began at the Mustangs’ 44-yard, 8-yard and 42-yard lines.

The Mustangs threw an interception shortly after the start of the third quarter, which ended their first possession of the second half and became the catalyst for starting field position swinging decidedly to Eustis’ favor. The interception in third quarter was one of four thrown by the Mustangs during the game.

One key statistic that helps tell the story of the game and the work of the Wekiva defense was total yards gained. While Wekiva gained only 135 yards during the game, it was more than double the Panthers’ 60 yards gained. Average yards gained per play was almost three to one.

However, the Mustang’s victory also came with a leg injury to starting quarterback Justin Sessler during the last 30 seconds of the first quarter. The extent of Sessler’s injury had not been determined after the game, but more definitive diagnosis is expected by Tuesday.

“We won despite the injury to Justin, a positive sign,” Gabriel said. “However, the injury to Justin only adds to the others as far as having to start from scratch. Progress is the result of repetition and continuity. We are starting an entirely new backfield once again. The two interceptions thrown by Charle Chukes during the second half were as much about the lack of continuity as bad decisions.”

Wekiva will next face Dr. Phillips, home at Mustang Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday.