A power outage delayed Lakeland High School’s road football game against Western Branch High School for about 45 minutes on Friday night, but come game time, the Cavaliers ultimately did not display the power necessary to bring down the Bruins.

After an upset loss to Indian River High School last week, Western Branch rebounded with a 35-16 victory over the mistake-prone Cavaliers.

Cavs coach Bryan Potts was frustrated by the penalties his team routinely incurred.

“Once Lakeland takes Lakeland off the schedule, we’ll be OK,” he said. “I truly believe that we’re beating ourselves with some of the mistakes that we’re making.”

But he made a point to shoulder some of the blame.

“We’ve just got to have more discipline, and that starts with me as the coach,” he said. “I’m not going to put it all on the kids.”

The Bruins went up 7-0 on a rushing touchdown in the first quarter. The Cavaliers responded in the second quarter when senior wide receiver Ja’Juan Walker took a pass from senior quarterback Miles Goodman and scored on a 30-yard screen play.

Western Branch was able to push out ahead with two more touchdowns in the second quarter, making it 21-7 at halftime. Their third score was set up by a Goodman interception thrown with about two minutes to go. It was returned into Lakeland’s red zone.

The Cavaliers defense played well on the night, making life quite difficult for the Bruins at times. It forced a three-and-out to start the third quarter, after which Lakeland drove down the field, and senior running back Jordan Stokley scored on a five-yard run.

“We did a good job running,” Potts said.

The Bruins were able to go up 28-14 then force the Cavaliers to punt on their next possession. Lakeland’s special teams performed admirably, however, forcing the Bruins to start on their own 10-yard line.

Shortly thereafter, Ja’Juan Walker was able to tackle the WB quarterback in the end zone for a safety, making it 28-16 in the third quarter.

The Cavs were not able to put a drive together after the free kick, however. They only registered a couple first downs the rest of the game, and Goodman also threw a fourth quarter interception.

In addition to the safety, Lakeland’s defense caused another turnover as sophomore defensive end Demetrius McKinney had a fumble recovery.

With two games remaining and a playoff berth still a lingering possibility, Potts said he plans for his team to take things a day at a time and focus on getting the little things right moving forward.

Lakeland (2-6) hosts Deep Creek High School next Friday night.