Mike Mayo knew he would have a big challenge when he took over as the Laurel High varsity football coach prior to this season.The Spartans have gone through several coaches this century with very little to show for it on the field.Laurel (0-5) dropped its fifth straight game in a 49-7 loss at Bowie High on Sept. 30. The Bulldogs (2-3) made the playoffs last season.Mayo is trying to develop a young team with little depth."I think the biggest thing is we are not being physical," said Mayo, noting that opponents are bigger, faster and stronger. "That is part of what we have to work on: the fundamentals, tackling, blocking and making plays.""A lot of kids are playing for the first time," added Mayo, who has a few freshmen and sophomores who are seeing action.Mayo is used to reclamation projects on the gridiron.He took over a struggling program at Forestville and then won a Class 1A state title at the school in 1999. Mayo went to Flowers High in 2000 with a new program and went to the playoffs for 12 of 15 years that he coached there.The construction project at Laurel has been stymied by inexperience and injuries this season.The loss to Bowie came on the heels of a 33-6 loss to DuVal High on Sept. 24."[DuVal] made plays and got off to a good start," Mayo said. "I thought we did a pretty good job of execution. We had some kids out with injuries and kids back off of injuries. You have to play with what you got.""We are not very deep right now," Mayo added. "It is about gaining experience and we don't have a lot of experience right now. For some, it is the first time they have experienced varsity football. We are learning and trying to get better each week."The Spartans had to use several players at quarterback against DuVal.Senior Rex Okonkwo got the start, but he was replaced by sophomore Emmanuel Esotu.Esotu led Laurel to its only touchdown in the second quarter.But in the third quarter, Esotu was hit by a DuVal defender and fractured his clavicle.Mayo employed a wildcat formation after Esotu was lost and running backs quarterbacked the Laurel offense.The Spartans never recovered from a 26-6 halftime deficit."We feel like Emmanuel is a better thrower and we had to open it up a little bit," Mayo said.What is his biggest surprise after four games?"The reality of not having any kids back from the year before … only a few kids who have played some last year," he said. "The downside is we are not very good right now. Our motivation is to get better each game. We are playing a lot of young kids. It pays off down the road."One of the top tacklers for Laurel is linebacker Kevin Diaz. Among the top offensive players are senior wide receiver Maurice Peterson and senior tight end Donte Tindal.Mayo said he has four seniors who start on offense and five seniors who start on defense, though most of them did not play last season.Mayo knows he has to be patient with his young squad.Help could be on the horizon as the Laurel junior varsity won two of its first four games with victories over Largo and High Point."They are doing pretty good," he said. "I think they have just as many kids as we do.""Next year we will mesh up together in the off-season," Mayo added. "Right now we are taking our lumps and it will pay off down the road."Notes: The Spartans have not played a game yet at Kirby Field at Laurel High due to re-sodding of the grass. Mayo is hopeful the field will be ready for its home game Oct. 8 against Parkdale. Laurel's football squad began the season with lopsided losses to Largo and Eleanor Roosevelt. The Spartans came close to their first victory in Week 3, but they fell, 13-7, to High Point.