The562’s coverage of football in 2024-25 is sponsored by The Terry Donahue Memorial California Showcase.
The562’s coverage of St. Anthony athletics is sponsored by Jane & B.I. Mais, Class of 1948.
The562’s coverage of Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013.
The Lakewood offense was stuck in the proverbial mud for a majority of the opening half against St. Anthony on Thursday night. Bogged down by a swarm of penalty flags and some near-misses in the passing game, the Lancers trailed 3-0 midway through the second quarter at Clark Field.
But like the cap coming off a shaken up soda bottle, once the Lancers connected for a big play, the points started flowing in a hurry. By the time the clock hit zero, it was a comfortable 45-3 win for the Lancers as they improved to 2-0 on the young season.
“Beating ourselves. Going backwards. Penalties. Undisciplined, sloppy play. Those are the words that come to mind right now,” said Lakewood head coach Justin Utupo of his team’s shaky start. “Even though we won this game, you can’t afford to make these mistakes week in and week out. So we’ve got to clean it up. I challenged our leaders to step up and start to hold these guys accountable.”
In the first 16 minutes of game time, the Lancers were penalized 12 times for 120 yards, and their total for the game was 23 penalties for 228 yards.
On the bright side, junior QB Kade Casillas was the spark plug to right the ship for Lakewood, first with his legs and then with his arm. After consecutive penalties backed up the Lancers to their own 16 yard line on 2nd & 26, Casillas scrambled for a 24-yard gain to help keep that drive alive. Three plays later, he connected with a home run ball that got the Lancers off and running.
After missing on his first couple deep shots against the Saints secondary, Casillas was able to link up with Tiwan Jones over the top for a 46-yard touchdown strike, kicking off an impressive scoring run for the Lancers.
“We kept shooting ourselves in the foot,” Casillas admitted. “Coming into the game, we were underestimating them after we had a big time win last week. Then that shot to Taiwan really set the tone. That’s what we needed. That was really the light of the fire.”
“I just feel like we had to turn that switch on, because my brothers and I, we know that we can go get it whenever we want to,” said Jones, who also added a second-half interception on defense. “I just feel like we came out a little slow, but once we click on and get on the same page, I feel like those big plays just kind of happen. That’s us.”
Using that big play as a jumping off point, the Lancers took the game over quickly. Lakewood scored 38 points in less than 10 minutes of game time, turning a 3-0 deficit into a 38-3 lead early in the second half.
Casillas was 9/20 in the passing game for 255 yards and 3 TDs to three different receivers. He also ran it three times for 76 yards and a score–a 49-yard scoring run early in the third quarter.
“We came into this game wanting to be able to push the ball down the field, so I know (Casillas) was excited,” Utupo said. “He wants to make those big-time throws and big-time plays, which he’s more than capable of doing, and we trust him to be able to connect on those with his receivers. He just needed to settle in and settle down, and once he got going, he’s unstoppable back there.”
After a fumble recovery by Soloalofa Lepaga-Ili set the Lakewood offense up with great field position, Nytrell Miller ran in Lakewood’s second touchdown from 13 yards out to make it 14-3. The lead grew to 21-3 on the next Lancers drive as Casillas connected with Caleb Tafua who ran through a defender on a 36-yard catch and run TD.
After an Andrew Heang field goal made it a 24-3 lead at halftime, Lakewood wasted no time in going for more. On the first play of the third quarter, Casillas uncorked a 90-yard bomb to Kenny Niumataevalu for a game-clinching score.
Sophomore running back Thales Nguyen capped the scoring with a one-yard TD plunge in the closing seconds.
It was a tough night for St. Anthony as they continue their grueling non-league schedule. Jeremiah Taufi had an interception and a sack for the Saints defense, while also rushing for 18 yards offensively.
Both teams will be at home next Friday night as St. Anthony hosts Torrance and Lakewood welcomes Edison for an intriguing showdown.
