After suffering through three weeks of blowout football at the hands of its north conference rivals, the Falcons seemed to have a grip on things Friday night against Lakewood.

At Lakewood High School for the Cougars’ homecoming game, the Falcons were in the game at halftime, trailing their North Cascade Conference rivals 7-6. Having lost their previous three games by at least 30 points apiece, this game was the first one within the Falcons reach since mid-September.

But in a second half that can only be called tragic, the Falcons fumbled their way into what might be the unhappiest loss of the season. For the game, South Whidbey dropped the ball seven times. At its worst, the Falcons turned the ball over on three consecutive offensive plays to hand Lakewood a big homecoming present wrapped in a 34-6 victory for the hosts.

South Whidbey coach Mark Hodson said it was a shame to see an otherwise strong game go south. The team’s undoing came in the third quarter when the Falcons fumbled the ball on three consecutive first-down plays after receiving kickoffs, giving away field position every team dreams of having.

“We just gave them a short field so many times,” he said.

At a yardage disadvantage, South Whidbey’s defense was unable to hold the Cougars out of the end zone. At the same time, the offense had little luck in building momentum. Though they produced a touch down and two drives of 16 plays in the first half, the repeated losses of possession stalled the team in the second.

Going into their own homecoming game Friday night against Granite Falls, the Falcons have lost their last four games by a combined score of 188-40. Hodson said the matchup will be between two teams that are struggling. The Falcons and the Tigers are are now both 1-4.