For the Lakeland Cavaliers it wasn’t just the Great Bridge Wildcats who stood as a formidable opponent Friday night. It was also the flu. And, in some cases, both opponents had their way with the Cavaliers.

Both teams entered Friday night’s game undefeated, but it was the Wildcats who looked as if they were the ones familiar with the undefeated feeling and in turn, dominated the Cavaliers en route to a 42-0 thumping.

“You have to really hand it to Great Bridge tonight. They came in here and beat us on every level,” Lakeland head coach Glenwood Ferebee said. “This loss is a learning experience, a humbling experience for this football team. Great Bridge was the much better team tonight.”

Ferebee even threw away any possible excuse the flu may have had an impact on the outcome.

“I don’t want to take anything away from their (Great Bridge) win tonight. We are not making any excuses. We got beat,” Ferebee said. “But knowing how many of these young men battled high temperatures and even some who were in the hospital, it’s hard for me to be too upset. They gave us everything they had tonight.”

Even with the loss, the Cavaliers remain in good position in the standings at 3-1.

“We know this loss does not ruin our season. We have a great chance to be playing in late November and see this team again,” Ferebee said. “We just need to learn from this and get ready for next week.”

Overall, Great Bridge racked up 376 yards of total offense, with 239 of that coming in the air and through big plays.

“Even with everything, we have got to tighten up and prevent the big plays from hurting us like they did tonight,” Ferebee said. “They (Great Bridge) had a lot of big plays and was able to play on a short field thanks to good field position.”

In contrast to Great Bridge, Lakeland generated just 190 yards of total offense and generated just a handful of first downs.

The Cavaliers had used a strong running game to help lead them to their three season-opening victories, but could come up with 49 yards on the ground. Cavalier lead running back Cedric Johnson was held to just six total yards on 12 carries.

Lakeland will have a chance to rebound next Friday night when they travel to take on Western Branch.

Thanks to stadium lighting problems at King’s Fork High School, Great Bridge will return to Cavalier Stadium next Friday night where they will take on King’s Fork. Kick off for both games is set for 7 p.m.