The Wekiva Mustangs played a competitive first half of football, but the Lake Howell Silver Hawks pulled away in the final two quarters for a 50-6 victory Friday night in Winter Park.

The loss dropped Wekiva to 1-8 on the season, while the Silver Hawks improved to 6-3.

“Some of the players have improved, but still obviously not enough to win,” Mustang coach Doug Gabriel said. “The level to which the players have improved and the number was less than Lake Howell.”

The Mustangs scored the first points of the contest on their first possession to take an early lead. It was Wekiva’s first lead since Sept. 12, when the Mustangs defeated Eustis 14-0.

A successful fake punt attempt propelled the Mustangs into the lead. Facing a fourth down at Wekiva’s own 15-yard line, punter Matthew Beacham carried the ball 24 yards to the 39.

Two pass completions followed on the next two plays. Quarterback Emil Flaquer connected with Jakarri Bellamy for 56 yards and then Beacham for a five-yard touchdown toss.

Both pass completions began as screen passes to the hashmarks. Excellent blocking upfield resulted in the successful plays.

The Mustangs covered 84 yards on six plays to score on the drive.

“We practiced the fake punt and the screen passes throughout the week,” Gabriel said. “The practicing paid off. We showed the ability to improve and understand what was practiced, a positive.”

Lake Howell needed two more plays to answer on its first possession. The possession accounted for 56 of the Silver Hawks’ 338 total yards and ended with a 16-yard rush from Shamar Morris.

Devin Coleman barged into the end zone behind the right side of the offensive line for a two-point conversation that gave Lake Howell the permanent lead, 8-6.

The Silver Hawks scored two touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 22-6 lead into the locker room, but they quickly broke open the game after halftime.

Lake Howell went on a three-touchdown scoring spree over the first 4:34 of the third quarter, starting with a 30-yard scoring toss from Brycen Marbrey to Devin Coleman. Two interception returns for touchdowns followed, covering 58 yards and 45 yards and continuing a season-long trend for Wekiva.

Thanks to the interceptions, Lake Howell only needed 116 offensive yards to put up 28 second-half points, after piling up 232 offensive yards to score 22 in the first half.

Of the 177 total yards the Mustangs gained, almost half came during the first possession. Landon Jerome led the offensive with 68 rushing yards.

Wekiva committed 14 penalties as well, allowing Lake Howell to move the ball another 121 yards.

On the positive side, the Mustangs have upped the season high for total yards during each of the last two games.

Wekiva will cap off its season at 7 p.m. Thursday on the road against Apopka. The cross-town rivalry is also known as the Tater Bowl, and the Blue Darters have won the last four editions.