It was the worst of both worlds for Cassville Friday.

The Wildcats struggled equally to move the ball against a stout Seneca defense, and to stop the Indians’ dynamic offense, falling 42-7.

“Seneca hit way more plays and played hard,” said Clay Weldy, Cassville football coach. “They are a very good team. We got outplayed and outcoached.”

Cassville started with the ball and a promising return to the 33, but went three-and-out and was forced to punt.

Seneca hit two big plays, a 41-yard gain on an option pitch and an 18-yard pass up the middle to score and take an 8-0 lead.

Cassville started at the 22 on the next drive and on third-and-4 took a delay of game, but Quarterback Bodee Rose made up for it with a 10-yard run to the sticks. Still forced to punt, Hernan Hernandez drilled one to the Indians’ 6-yard line.

Seneca wasn’t bothered. Two plays later, the Indians struck on a 97-yard bomb caught at midfield, with Hernandez nearly breaking up the pass in coverage.

Another punt for Cassville set up Seneca for another one-two punch. A 36-yard pass up the middle set up a 24-yard slant untouched to the end zone for a 21-0 lead.

The Indians struck again on a 23-yard touchdown run, with Ethan Lamborn blocking the point-after attempt.

A Cassville fumble on the next drive turned to to a Seneca 27-yard run for the 35-0 halftime scoreline.

Cassville came out of the locker room with gusto, forcing the first Indians’ punt and finding paydirt after.

On a shallow crossing route, Riley Ruark stretched for a ball and found the sideline and a key block at the 5 to go 60 yards to break the goose egg.

Seneca, however, returned to first-half form and capped an 80-yard drive with a 29-yard floater up the middle the receiver chased down to grab.

Weldy said the Wildcats made adjustments at halftime, which did help.

“They did a good job, and we made a lot of mental mistakes,” Weldy said. “They ran the plays we worked on all week. We just didn’t execute.

“At halftime, we talked about competing, and we got a stop and scored. We did play better when our older guys were still in.”

Ethan Lamborn, senior lineman, said the effort in the first half could have been better.

“I first-half effort was definitely not what it should have been,” he said. “We stepped it up in the second half and gave the best we could.”

Lamborn said to prevent a repeat scoreline, the Wildcats have to play with more unity.

“We have to play as a team better, stay unified and try not to get down when we make mistakes,” he said.

Physicality was a major factor in the game according to Weldy and Lamborn, and area the Wildcats hope to improve.

“We have to be more physical and fix a few mistakes,” Lamborn said.

“It’s early in the season, and we still have a lot of work to do,” Weldy said. “We have to be more physical. Size is an aspect, but it’s no excuse. We have got to get better there.”

A highlight of the game were a pair of Keaton Shellenberger point-after attempt blocks. Lamborn was by Shellenberger’s shoulder pads on both plays.

“We saw some gaps and shot them as fast as we could,” Lamborn said. “Blocks like that can bring some energy to the team and give us something to build off of.”

The Wildcats hit the road Friday to face East Newton, and Lamborn said the No. 1 priority is playing mistake-free.

“We have to look back on our mistakes and fix them, getting better every day, and hopefully, we can walk out with a win,” he said. “We can’t be overconfident, but we have to play every team like they are the best we’ll see and keep the pedal on the metal.”

Weldy said the challenge presented by East Newton is the same Cassville has faced all season — size.

“They are very similar to us schematically,” he said. “It’s not the same offense, but it’s close, and the defense, too. It’s a lot of two-back running the ball and play action on offense, and a four-man front on defense.

“They have good size up front on the offensive and defensive lines, much like Aurora and Hollister.”

As Seneca out-sized Cassville, as well, Weldy said lessons learned in the trenches this season will help the Wildcats on Friday.

“This is the fourth game in a row we’ve been smaller than our opponents, so it’s just a fact of life, but it’s something we’ve overcome in two of three games,” he said. “We need to play at pad level and play hard. If you are smaller you have to be a technician with your fundamentals, so we’re getting back to that this week to play faster and lower, and with more tenacity.”

Kickoff on Friday at East Newton is at 7 p.m.