LAKE MILLS — The first outing of the season was a tough one for the Bulldogs.

The Lake Mills football team lost its season opener 48-0 Friday against Belmond-Klemme at Lake Mills.

Bulldogs coach Bill Byrnes cited his team’s youthfulness as one of its hurdles this season, and said Belmond-Klemme is an exceptionally challenging team to face straight out of the gate.

“We have to grow up as a team,” he said. “That was a frustrating game… We’re a very young team, and Belmond-Klemme is a very solid team with very good athletes.”

Lake Mills had five turnovers as a result of two lost fumbles and three interceptions.

“That’s very uncharacteristic of us,” said Byrnes.

Belmond-Klemme surpassed Lake Mills in rushing yardage 390 to 100.

Slade Sifuentes led the Bulldogs on the ground with seven carries for 43 yards. Max Bergo had eight carries for 32 yards, and Grant Fjelstad added nine carries for 24 yards.

The Bulldogs had a small edge in passing yards. Belmond-Klemme completed 4-of-17 passes for 14 yards, and Sifuentes was 4-of-16 for 33 yards.

Grant Boehmer had a Lake Mills team-high three receptions for nine yards.

Byrnes said his offense moved the ball, even if it wasn’t reflected on the scoreboard.

The Lake Mills coach said he and his team would be going back to fundamentals in order to keep improving throughout their season.

“We’ll look at the film and correct our mistakes,” he said. “We’re going to move ahead.”

Next, Lake Mills will go on the road to play West Hancock at 7 p.m. Friday in Britt, Iowa.