By STEPHEN GLOVER

For the Call

Black cats, opening umbrellas indoors and walking under a ladder have nothing on the Mehlville Senior High School football team.

Mehlville (0-5, 0-3 Suburban West) has run into more bad luck than could be imagined as the Panthers have lost four offensive linemen, four defensive linemen, two linebackers, two punters and one quarterback this season due to injuries.

The Panthers were on the road Friday, dropping a 38-7 decision to Lafayette. The loss sealed the fate of Mehlville in that the best the Panthers could do is a 5-5 record during the regular season.

Lafayette took a 7-0 lead when Cartez Parker scored on a 35-yard interception with 6:19 left in the first quarter.

The Panthers immediately answered as Rashad Wilson scored on a five-yard run with 3:49 left in the first quarter.

“We had a good drive and Rashad finished it off with a sprint to the end zone,” Mehlville head coach Gary Heyde told the Call.

Lafayette then scored 31 unanswered points en route to its lopsided win over the Panthers.

Junior Zack Harris took over the quarterback duties for Mehlville for the second consecutive week after Kevin Mahler suffered a concussion the previous week.

“Zack did a pretty good job,” Heyde said. “When you lose four offensive linemen, it makes it tough for anybody out there.”

The Panthers are back in action Friday when they play host to Kirkwood in a Su-burban West Conference meeting between the two schools. Kirkwood is coming off a disappointing 24-21 loss to Parkway South.

“Kirkwood’s a very talented team and they’re talented at the skill positions which will pose problems for anybody,” Heyde said. “They can score a lot of points.

Mehlville’s game against Kirkwood is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.