The 2013 season ended in the second week of playoffs for the Mehlville Senior High School varsity football team when the Panthers fell 48-0 Friday night to the Lafayette Lancers.

For the postseason, the 4-7 Panthers posted one win when they knocked off the Oakville Tigers in an opening-round upset two weeks ago, but Mehlville was outmatched against 9-2 Lafayette.

Mehlville head coach Kent Heinemann told the Call that Lafayette was a tough opponent and his squad wasn’t able to execute a game plan against the Lancers.

“The game obviously didn’t go how we had planned,” he said. “Lafayette was pretty darn good. Not that we didn’t think they were good. They had a nice game plan and they pretty much stopped everything we wanted to do.”

Lafayette scored twice in the first quarter and never looked back, scoring four times in the second quarter.

Overall, Heinemann said the 2013 season had plenty of successes and opportunities.

“Looking back at the season, I felt like we could have done more,” the Mehlville coach said. “I’m pretty happy with what we did, though. Only two wins last year and they get to the playoffs this year. I’ve got to be pretty happy with that.”

Throughout the season, fans could say the Panthers were streaky as they opened the season with a three-game losing streak then got hot, winning three in a row. But they finished the regular season with a second three-game losing streak.

For the seniors who played their last high school football game last week, Heinemann said their impact on the Panther football program will be remembered.

“We are going to miss them because they were a big part of this season and we have a lot of kids to replace,” he said. “I am real proud of what they did and their contributions to try to get this program back on the map.”

As for Heinemann’s first year as head coach, he said he learned a great deal.

“There are some things that I am going to do differently. It was definitely a learning experience,” he said. “It was awesome coaching a game with my dad and our coaching staff. I think we really worked well together.

“So there were some things that we did great that we are going to build on, and things that I think we can change for next season.”