Last year was death by a million papercuts for the prideful Lakewood football fan base and head coach Mike Christensen. The Lancers went 3-7 overall and missed the playoffs for the first time in 15 years–making it worse, five of the losses came by three points, including an overtime loss to Wilson.
“Yeah, we lost five games by three points, it was tough,” said Christensen. “But we lost them, we gotta go win them. Our guys haven’t learned how to do that yet. That culture change is a slow process.”
The last four seasons have been tough. The fans are still lining the street to sit on top of their RVs to watch Lancers football games, but the team’s win total has been moving in the wrong direction.
Christensen is in his third year back with the Lancers, a team he previously built into a strong Division 1 program. Lakewood now finds itself in Division 8, hoping to get back into the playoffs after missing them by just a game last year; if the Lancers can get into the postseason, they’ll have the horses to make some noise.
The big name is star running back Sebastian Kronberger, who led the Lancers last year with 1,316 yards rushing and 18 touchdowns, leading the team in total yardage and scoring. Kronberger is one of the Moore League’s top returning offensive players, and could be poised to break career records this season with a strong showing.
Lancers fans won’t get a chance to see Lakewood in action for a while however, as they won’t play a game until Aug. 24 and that will be against Windermere Prep in Florida–they won’t play a game in Southern California until hosting Mayfair in the annual Milk Bucket rivalry game on August 31.
The nonleague schedule is tough overall with the Florida trip, a burgeoning powerhouse in Mayfair, and Corona del Mar all before the first league game. Christensen said he wants to give his kids a chance to compete against top programs, but he also wants to do more than just football. That was the philosophy behind going to Florida.
“Part of our mission is to give these kids experiences they’ve never had,” he said. “Last spring we asked them how many of you haven’t been on an airplane? Half the kids. We’re not going out there for just a game, we hope it’s a lifetime memory.”
The Lancers’ line gives them a good shot to make some playoff memories too. James Voorhies and Kronberger will have some hogs in front of them as they come out of the backfield, including Josh Palu and Faio Tuitaui. Ethan Edwards came out for the team after playing for the Lancers’ basketball team and at 6-4 270 pounds he already has one more Division 1 scholarship offer than he has varsity snaps.
The Lancers have the pieces this year, and Christensen loves his freshman class. If this can be the year that Lakewood starts moving in the right direction, it could be the start of another red reign.
Projected Starting Lineup
Offense
QB: Gevani McCoy
FB: James Voorhies
RB: Sebastian Kronberger
OL: Dalton McAllister
OL: Josh Palu
OL: Chase Carter
OL: Ethan Edwards
OL: Faio Tautai
WR: Jakob Lemieux
WR: Open Competition
TE: Jeremiah White
Defense
DL: Josh Palu
DL: Ryan Robertson
DL: Kaleel Carter
LB: Ray Masoe
LB: Darrius Cole
LB: Tyler Antwine
LB: Zach Myers
DB: Jakob Lemieux
DB: Jeremiah White
DB: James Voorhies
DB: Open Competition
Lakewood Schedule
8/17 BYE
8/24 @ Windermere Prep (Florida)
8/31 vs. Mayfair
9/7 vs. Corona del Mar
9/14 @ Jordan
9/21 @ Millikan
9/28 @ Camarillo
10/5 vs. Wilson
10/12 @ Compton
10/19 vs. Long Beach Poly
10/26 vs. Cabrillo
Lakewood Football Season Preview 2018
Read more about this year’s Lancers team: http://www.the562.org/2018/08/10/lakewood-lancers-football-season-preview/ Visit the562.org and click SUBSCRIBE to keep these videos on Youtube.
