The562’s football coverage for the 2026-27 school year is sponsored by Long Beach Poly alums Wendell “WoWo” Moe, Jr. & Tyson Ruffins.
The562’s coverage of Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013.
The Lakewood football team is no stranger to opening its season against tough competition and it will be no different when the Lancers host Corona Del Mar on Friday night at John Ford Stadium.
The Lancers will be led by senior Aidan Kautsky – who will be looking to lead Lakewood in his first year as a starter. Lakewood has plenty of returners on the offensive line and that’ll be good for the Lancers as they look to get senior Thales Nguyen and junior Cedric Lane going in the backfield to keep the chains moving.
On the outside Kautsky will have some new faces to throw to, but senior Jayden Moore will be one his top options. He’ll be joined by sophomore Raymond McCree and junior Terrish Weston Jr. to keep the Sea Kings honest.
Defensively, the Red Swarm will be in full effect for the Lancers as they have a lot of new faces. Weston Jr. will be one of those secondary players and he’ll be joined by LA Morris who will look to slow down the Sea Kings’ offense.
Corona Del Mar finished second in the Bravo League a year ago before a first-round exit in the CIF-SS Division 2 playoffs. The Sea Kings have a physical running attack that will be headed by senior Chase Cuchera – CDM’s leading rusher last year.
The Sea Kings will be led by a new quarterback with three juniors – John David Annett, Luca Dinapoli and Dylan Dallal – listed on their roster. Whoever lines up under center for CDM will have plenty of depth at receiver as they return JJ Haley – who finished with 653 yards receiving, six touchdowns and 35 catches a year ago.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday.
