The562’s coverage of Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013.
There’ll be plenty of new faces on the field for Lakewood flag football this season, but the Lancers have some stability at the top under second-year coach Fern Viramontes.
Viramontes is tasked with replacing a group of 12 seniors, leaving plenty of opportunities for younger players to step into bigger roles. The Lancers also had an influx of talent at tryouts and were able to fill out three full levels of rosters with a handful of multi-sport athletes, giving Lakewood a mix of first-time players and promising up-and-coming talent to shape the new-look Lancers in 2026.
“With all the young players and girls coming from other sports, we’ve just been trying to mesh all these different girls together and doing a lot of things off the field to help with that,” Viramontes said. “We had a team bonding at our new aquatic center, and we’re just trying to get the girls all together because I believe the relationships they make off the field will make a big impact on the field.”
The key for Viramontes isn’t just finding new players to step up, but also maintaining a standard for his program which he’s doing with a handful of core returners. One of those players is senior Layla Kawamura, who’s entering her third year of flag football as a receiver and linebacker. Viramontes mentioned Kawamura as one of his top athletes, but also had plenty of praise for her impact off the field.
“She is not the loudest person on the team, but she just leads by example and that’s what we want to carry our program on,” Viramontes said of Kawmaura. “I told the girls this the other day, but when you look at Layla she checks off all the boxes. She’s always on time and she’s always finding ways to get better. She’s just a student of the game and she’s the epitome of what we want our athletes to be like in this program.”
Kawamura’s journey is similar to that of many high school girls who have picked up flag football in recent years. The senior decided to give the sport a try during her sophomore year and has since dedicated a big chunk of her time to flag football as she heads into her final season.
“I’ve grown so much really in every way,” she said. “I never knew that I could play flag football, and I was just excited to try it out when it became an option. I think I’ve grown pretty much every aspect since then from pulling flags to catching the football, I’ve learned a lot about the game and made some great connections along the way.”
Another two-way player for Lakewood will be receiver/cornerback Caleigh Correa, who’s also gained some of the most flag football experience on the team over the last year. Correa spent her offseason playing club flag football with Lights Out, where she competed in and won numerous of championship games.
Alongside Kawmaura and Correa, Lakewood’s receiving depth will include Djai Verdun and Mahlia Simmons, with sophomore Tatiana Long in the backfield at running back. Spreading the ball around will be Isabel Jovel, a dual-sport softball player who started some games at quarterback last year and has been training to be the Lancers’ signal caller again in 2026.
“Last year she got thrown into the fire without much experience and she went the whole season with no complaints,” Viramontes said of Jovel. “Now this year she’s had a lot more training at quarterback and she understands the offense a little more. I’m just excited about what she can do in that aspect.”
Defensively, Lakewood will have a handful of girls starting on both sides of the ball. Opposite of Correa at cornerback will be Kayla Cook, who Viramontes praised as one of the team’s hardest workers during optional offseason workouts. On either side of Kawmaura at linebacker will be Mia Franco and Jaslyn Anderson, with Verdun and Mahlia Simmons at safety.
Viramontes will be taking over play-calling duties on both ends of the football and wants to put even more emphasis on his defense this year. He says he wants his girls to take on the Lakewood boys’ football team’s “Red Swarm” nickname by flying to the ball and pulling flags.
“We want to make sure all seven of our girls are flying around to the football and pulling flags,” he said. “These flags are a little tricky so it’s important to swarm to the football. We’re going to be real disciplined—there’s a lot of misdirection in flag football so it’s about doing our job and trusting the girl next to you.”
Lakewood finished 4-8 in the Moore League and will have a smaller slate of league games after the departure of Cabrillo and Compton. The Lancers have a packed non-league schedule before opening league play at home against Millikan on Sept. 14.
