The562’s coverage of Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013.
It’s been a dry decade, but the milk is flowing again at Lakewood High School.
Eleven years after the Lancers’ last win over rival Mayfair, Lakewood defeated the Monsoons on Friday to reclaim the city’s iconic Milk Bucket trophy. Lakewood got an early pick-six from captain Tiwan Jones and never looked back in a 35-7 win.
After the victory the Lancers paraded the Milk Bucket around the field, celebrating together before dousing first-year head coach Mario Morales with a full gallon of milk.
“I’ve been around the game for so long, it’s nights like tonight that remind you, it’s about the kids,” said Morales. “Their emotions, coming together. They played for something that was big that they haven’t had for a long time.”
Lakewood’s mayor, vice mayor, and a third city councilman were all on hand for the game, as was a large crowd for both teams at John Ford Stadium. They got to see the Lancers take an early lead, as Jones grabbed a pass on the opening drive of the game and took it back to the house for a 7-0 lead.
“I gotta put on for my team, make sure I set the tone and give these boys energy,” said Jones. “As soon as it was in my hands I knew I was going to the end zone.”
Jones said he and the other Lancers have been wanting to get their hands on the Milk Bucket for years.
“When I first heard about it I thought it was crazy, but after not having it for the last three years I had to get it before I leave,” he said.
Mayfair moved the ball well throughout the night, but the Lancers defense got off the field on third and fourth down consistently. They forced a turnover on downs on Mayfair’s next drive, and then QB Kade Casillas helped engineer a run-heavy drive that saw him pick up two first downs, and then take it in for a score himself to put Lakewood up 14-0 early in the second quarter.
“We’ve seen them celebrate on our field, on their field, it feels good as a senior to get that Milk Bucket back where it belongs,” said Casillas. “First trophy and accomplishment of the season, with many more to come.”
The Lancers defense ended the next Mayfair drive with a turnover on downs, and on the following drive after that for Mayfair, Sammy Spencer grabbed an interception. After a goal line stand by the Lakewood defense, Casillas hit Kagiso Boikanyo for a 95-yard touchdown that made it 21-0. Mayfair would end up getting on the board early in the fourth quarter as Elijah Quinonez hit Miles Mitchell for a score that made it 21-7 early in the fourth.
The Lancers responded with scores on their next two drives, as Jordan Montgomery ran in a score, and then Nasir Jenkins ran one in from 67 yards out to make it 35-7.
“All three phases of the team did great, our defense had three interceptions, our offense scored four touchdowns, and special teams was 5/5 on PATs,” said Casillas.
Lakewood had a tough start to the year with losses to highly-ranked Edison and Carlsbad, but Morales said he felt that helped his team gain the experience they need for games like the Milk Bucket rivalry, as well as the tough Moore League tests ahead.
“We played two of the top teams in Southern California and we knew that we had a lack of experience,” he said. “You just want to go in there, play hard and learn something, and we did. We just kept telling them, we’re a good football team, hang in there. We want to get better every night and we got better tonight. We’re growing up a little bit.”
The Lancers’ next big test will be next week when they travel to Compton in a pivotal Moore League game.
