A 24-8 road loss against Deep Creek High School on Friday leaves the Lakeland Cavaliers in a big hole for the season.

The Cavs have now taken their fifth loss in a row and stand at 1-5 for the season.

The Cavs did a good job limiting Deep Creek’s running attack during the first quarter. However, Lakeland could not get its own offense going, either.

Deep Creek scored the first points of the game in the second quarter with a field goal. A rash of Lakeland penalties put Deep Creek in successful field positions throughout the game. In the second quarter alone, the Cavs had big defensive penalties such as unsportsmanlike conduct and late hits.

The miscues put Deep Creek in field goal range, and they capitalized on the advantage toward the end of the first half.

“The penalties killed us tonight,” coach Kevin Knight said. “That was the most undisciplined I have ever seen us play. There is no way you can win like that, and that’s on me. Just got to go back and break this film down and get back on track. That’s not how we do things.”

At halftime, the score was 3-0, and Lakeland had limited Deep Creek to only 68 yards. There was solid defensive play by the Cavs in the first half, but it was overshadowed by reckless penalties.

But Deep Creek owned the second half. In their opening third-quarter possession, they scored a touchdown to go up 10-0.

Trying to play catch-up meant that the Cavs didn’t run the ball much. Tyquan Holloman passed for 190 yards and a touchdown that went for 69 yards to Damonta Hawkins. Unfortunately for the Cavs, they also had five turnovers on offense.

“We didn’t look like we were into the game tonight,” Knight said. “You put a team in third- and fourth-down situations, and penalties help them out. It is frustrating.”

Lakeland still has four games left to play, and Knight and his staff will continue to evaluate their team and themselves to see how the Cavs can turn it around and make a late playoff push.

“We still have a chance, being that we are 3A school playing against bigger schools,” Knight said. “But we just got to fight and stay healthy and make things happen.”

Lakeland will host Hickory High School this coming Friday.

Deep Creek 24, Lakeland 8

Lakeland 0 0 0 8 — 8

Deep Creek 0 3 0 21 — 24

DC-Stone FG 43

DC-Evans 10 run (Stone kick)

DC-Wood 18 pass INT return (Stone kick)

L-Hawkins 69 pass from Holloman (Edgehill pass from Holloman)

DC-Eure 1 run (Stone kick)