Lakewood Lancer football boasted a seven-touchdown game in the team’s Division 5 playoff opener win over the Valencia Vikings.   

The Lancers won the game, 50-26, with quarterback Kade Casillas leading the charge.

Casillas’s dual-threat ability was an issue for Valencia all night. He scrambled for yards and eluded pass rushers to give his receivers a chance at a play down field.

One of Casillas’s favorite targets was Caleb Tafua, who had two touchdowns from 12 yards and 35 yards out.

Within the first half, Valencia was able to match Lakewood as the two teams traded scoring drives.

The first points of the game for Valencia came from a 71-yard touchdown from Brian Bonner.

Brian Bonner goes 71-yards for a Valencia touchdown!
Valencia 7, Lakewood 7 pic.twitter.com/RV311dAdA5

— KHTS Sports (@KHTSSports) November 9, 2024

After going down a pair of touchdowns, Valencia responded with a spark of their own as quarterback Brady Bretthauer connected with Nico Funez on a 15-yard touchdown pass, narrowing the Lancers’ lead to 21-14. 

But just as Valencia seemed to regain momentum, Lakewood’s special teams unit made a game-changing play. In a flash, the Lancers returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown, extending their lead to 28-14.

As the half wound down, Valencia’s defense began to find its rhythm, making key stops and slowing Lakewood’s offensive surge.

The momentum for Valencia carried out into the second half as the Vikings shaved seven minutes off the clock and finished in the endzone with a six-yard run from Nick Seymour.

To start the second half the Vikings caped off a seven minute drive with a touchdown from Nick Seymour.
Valencia 20, Lakewood 28 pic.twitter.com/lpTk702ril

— KHTS Sports (@KHTSSports) November 9, 2024

Following the strong start to the third quarter, the Vikings stalled out and were unable to move the ball consistently.

Valencia Head Coach Larry Muir acknowledged that while Lakewood had a good team, his squad did not play well.

“We didn’t play consistently enough,” said Muir. “When you’re in a game like this where you are evenly matched up, you better be firing on all cylinders, and if you’re not, Lakewood is the type of team that will make you pay, and they did.”

Defensively, the Vikings were unable to contain Lakewood as they scored an additional 22 points in the second half. 

With the upsetting loss, Muir hopes that the younger players on the team can learn from this experience and come back next season with a bad taste in their mouths, looking to win.

“That should be exciting for the future, but right now, you just hurt for all the seniors that put so much into it,” said Muir.

Muir added that he hopes the seniors are proud of what they did throughout the season. One of the group’s biggest accomplishments was going on a six-game win streak to become Foothill League Champions after a 0-4 start.

“That’s a month of struggle and to their credit, they hung in there and they upped their level of play,” said Muir. 

More important than having a good season to look back on, Muir hopes that seniors and younger players can learn from football and apply those lessons to their everyday lives.

“It’s everything. At the end of the day, it’s the values that, whether they realize it today, tomorrow or at some point in their life, they come to understand the values they get out of this,” said Muir. “When they do that, that is when the real magic happens, and those are the things that you’re most proud of.”

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