The Cassville football team met the same fate against Seneca on Friday as each of the two teams who had played the Indians already — shut out and giving up at least five scores.

Clay Weldy, Cassville football coach, said Seneca is a force in the district, helped by Wildcat mistakes on Friday in a 44-0 Cassville loss on the road.

“Seneca is a very good team, a veteran team that played extremely well,” Weldy said. “We play a lot of youth, and we made a lot of mistakes. We almost lost to Aurora because of our mistakes, and we talked about it all wee that if we do that against a veteran team, bad things will happen. They took advantage.”

The Indians banged their drum from the very start of the contest, scoring 8 seconds in on a post route for 41 yards in behind the secondary, the second play of the game after a Cassville offside penalty.

The Wildcats gained first downs in each of its first two possessions, but never got inside the Indians’ 35. Seneca, meanwhile, scored on its first four possessions, including a 2-yard run to cap a bruising drive, a 37-yard pass to paydirt and another 3-yard run resulting from a long drive.

In the second half, Seneca blocked a punt on the Wildcats’ opening drive, recovering at the 23 and eventually scoring from 7 out. Cassville struggled to move the ball on the ground, and long completions on consecutive drives were moved back by holding penalties.

Joseph Craft, senior received and linebacker, said the game was a battle for the Wildcats all night.

“They were more physical, and we just made too many mistakes like not lining up right or covering the right guys,” he said.

Weldy said little mistakes like that has as big an impact as Seneca’s big plays.

“I hope we learn from it and get better,” he said. “Seneca punished us, like good teams do. Times we had a good play or big play, we missed the pass or had a penalty.”

Weldy said going into this week, keeping the Wildcats grounded was top priority.

“It will probably not be a pleasant week of practice,” he said. “We have a long way to go, and right now, we can’t seem to get out of our own way. Those unforced mistakes are frustrating.”

Craft said the Wildcats left tom Hodge Field knowing there needs to be a greater focus in the week leading up to Friday nights.

“We have to make sure to take practice seriously, watch the film and study the scouting report,” he said. “[Us senior leaders] need to make sure everyone understands what they need to do.”

With six games left to go, Cassville stands in the middle of the district standings, and a postseason matchup with the Indians could remain in play.

“We have a long season ahead and more tough opponents,” he said. “They will probably be a No. 1 or No. 2 seed with Mt. Vernon, and this game shows us how far we have to go to get to that point. I hope we play a cleaner game if we see them in districts.”

Craft said if the squads meet again, the Wildcats will know what to expect.

“They are a good team and will expose our mistakes,” he said. “We have to be ready for that if we play them again, and be more physical.”

Cassville aims to get back on track this week, facing an East Newton team it has beaten at least 15 times straight, as far back as MSHSAA records online show.

The Patriots are 1-2 on the season, falling to Logan-Rogersville and Nevada but beating Cassville’s Week 1 opponent, Hollister, 20-18 on the road in Week 2.

Last year, the Wildcats earned a 35-0 away win.

“East Newton is a much improved team from a year ago,” Weldy said. “They are playing physically on both sides of the ball, and we will have to play extremely well to beat them this Friday night.”

As Craft alluded to Friday, Weldy said on Monday that a focused week in practice will be how the Wildcats mend mistakes.

“We are focusing on little things this week,” Weldy said. “We didn’t practice as well as we needed to get ready for Seneca. So we are focusing on having a better week of preparation and controlling the things we can control.”

Experience, Weldy added, should also go a long way for Cassville.

“We made too many mental errors last Friday, and when you play good teams, they expose mental mistakes,” he said. “We’ve made a lot of mental mistakes the last two weeks, and that is the issue you have when you have an inexperienced team like we have.

“However, we are getting towards the midpoint of the season, so we are becoming a more experienced team; therefore, we should begin to cut down on these silly mistakes we are making.”

Cassville and East Newton kick off at 7 p.m. on Friday at Wildcat Stadium.