The562’s coverage of Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013.
The Lakewood Lancers are hitting the road for their season opener. The Lancers will travel to Carlsbad for their namesake, where they will face off against the Carlsbad Lancers for a 7:15 game time–Carlsbad’s coach is Lakewood coaching legend Thadd MacNeal, which will make it an interesting matchup with first-year Lancers head coach Mario Morales.
The Lancers on both sides had similar seasons last year. Both teams finished third in their leagues last season. Lakewood went 4-2 in the Moore League and Carlsbad was 3-2 in the Avocado League. Overall, Lakewood had a 7-5 record and Carlsbad was 8-4.
However, both sides have some star players that will look to get the season started on the right foot this year.
Carlsbad is an upperclass-heavy team this year. 19/24 players on their roster are in their final two years of high school, with 11 of those 19 players being seniors.
Most notably, the Lancers have senior Cal commit Rocky Cummings on their team. Cummings missed a chunk of the 2024 season but will be back in the purple and white this year. The 6’4”, 215 pound linebacker and tight end will pose as a dangerous threat on both sides of the ball.
Lakewood is a younger team, but they’ll look to senior quarterback Kade Casillas for some strong leadership. Casillas has been a force for the Lancers since his breakout sophomore season, following up as a junior with 2,830 passing yards (236 per game) and 31 touchdowns last season. The senior will look to bring even more heat to the field for his final year as a Lancer.
This year, both teams will be looking to improve their records and find some success within their tough leagues. They’ve got some strong players to help start that mission, with the success story looking to begin Friday night.
