The Wekiva Mustangs lost to the Horizon Hawks 52-0 Friday night, but they continued to gain the most needed component of play for a young team: experience.

“The number and kinds of mistakes we are committing is not out of the ordinary for a team with little experience playing at the varsity level,” Mustang’s assistant coach Steve Brandenburg said. “The expectation of having to take these lumps and bruises in order to improve as far as being competitive doesn’t make dealing with the outcomes any easier. The outcomes have been tough on everyone, the players, coaching staff, the support staff, the community in general.”

Horizon’s first possession began at the Horizon 47-yard line, continuing a trend of excellent starting field position for Wekiva opponents. Kaio Oliveria bulled into the end zone on a two-yard rush, opening the scoring 10 plays later.

“Competitiveness develops when the work of improving and then learning how to carry the improvement to the games is put in during practices first,” Brandenburg said. “We have not learned how to do the carrying yet.”

Brandenburg said learning to pick up blitzes is a good example of the work ahead for the team, which has only four players with varsity experience.

“Lacking skills and talent development is expected when inexperienced,” he said. “However, improvement as far as developing a familiarity with and how to cover blitzes was steady and consistent during the practices. Then in the much different atmosphere of playing under the lights, in front of a loud crowd, we looked unfamiliar with the concept of blitzing altogether.”

In addition to Wekiva’s field position challenges, the team was also hampered by 10 penalties and three turnovers.

“We are taking the necessary first steps right now for a team with little experience,” Brandenburg said. “Carrying the improvement to games develops when the activities and drills are repeated during practices. So the first step is possessing a strong desire to get back to work and practice every Monday, which we have demonstrated.”

An example of improvement is the average starting field position for the opponent. The Hawks began their first three possessions on their own 45-, 45-, and 35-yard lines. During the first two contests, each of the opponents’ first three possessions began on Wekiva’s side of the field, including five inside the Mustangs’ 30-yard line.

Blocked punts were reduced to one against Horizon. Against the Edgewater Eagles and during the season opener, 16 of the first 30 points were directly scored on blocked punts. The two other possessions began with blocked punts, setting up the excellent field position. The West Orange Warriors turned three blocked punts into 17 points during the previous contest.

Despite being shut out, the Mustangs managed to move the ball. They drove to the Horizon 11-yard line with about 11 minutes remaining, but the next four plays netted only two yards. Two incomplete passes and two rushes came up short.

The contest was the third straight in which the Mustangs created serious scoring threats during the second half, and it’s the first time they failed to score.

“The activities, drills during practices, and film study are always just as important as what happens during the contests,” Brandenburg said. “For teams with little experience, though, the importance only grows. To use a cliché, teams have to crawl before walking, walk before flying. Crawling is always uncomfortable and uneasy. Yet, the strong desire to get back to work and practice every Monday has not changed.”

Horizon improved to 2-1 with the win, while Wekiva dropped to 0-3. The Mustangs will look for their first victory of the season against Eustis at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 12, at Mustang Field.