Lakewood--I played Varsity in 1974, and 1975. I started both years at DT. 1974 was my junior year. We were 6-1 going into the Millikan game. It was our homecoming game at Vets. Both teams undefeated in Moore League play. Millikan ran the wishbone, and had a quarterback named Boatwright, running back named Moses. Both very fast, and good. Vets stadium packed, 17,000 people. Lakewood ’s awesome band playing all the fight songs, drums thumping, energy high. We as a team knew what this game meant to us. Millikan was the rival team, more so than any other team that year. It was a slug fest from kickoff. We did not throw a pass play all game, kept to the ground, running Bill Raine, Bob Duerr, and Donny Dorazio. Straley, Lewis, Silvey, and the rest of the O-Line fighting for every inch. The Defense containing the Wishbone as best we could. It was give and take all game. Brisbane , Denham, Mori, Benning , Adams , Rankin and all the Defense, working well with all the options of the Bone. Fourth quarter we are ahead 14-7, and Millikan scores, making it 14-12. Millkan goes for 2 points to tie the game, they fake the dive to the right with the fullback, and the quarterback keeps the ball and tries to run it in off the end, and I tackled him on the goal line, with his helmet over the goal, and the ball a few inches from the goal line…We held them. Total exhilaration, I mean TOTAL. We beat Millikan who was undefeated coming into this game, and we remained undefeated in the Moore League, and it was Homecoming at Vets. I believe the 1974 Lancers are the last Lakewood team to go undefeated in Moore League play. The 1974 team also was the last of the Skinheads, we had to shave our heads every 2 weeks, to the bone. John Ford, and Gene Gillies taught discipline and hard work. I was so fortunate to have played for them, Al Taylor also. It was a special time, the end of an era in many ways. I was blessed by having played with all the guys I did. CRAP SON! Don Anderson Back in '72-'75, when the band would enter the stadium, at that time Vets, man, the drum corp sounded like rolling thunder and the stands shook. Man, those were the days. Sheesh, we had more kids in our drum section than are in the entire band this year! But Lancer football still rocks! God, I remember back in '64-'67, I was just a little kid but went to every game with my mom and dad to watch my sister do her thing. I always did and still do love football, both to watch and to play, but in those days I was a fanatic.
I never actually met any of those players but I still remember the names, Ron Ayala, Larry Crutchfield, Barnie Bumgardner, Jimmie Martinez. Man, those guys were my idols when I was growing up. In those days, the team to beat was Wilson who was a powerhouse, like the Poly of today! I still remember the game in '67 that Lakewood wasn't supposed to win. It was the game that propelled us into the CIF championships that year to face schools like Centennial, who we played at Cerritos college in the pouring rain on a muddy field, (god it was great!) in fact, Diane had her picture in the sports page, looking like a drowned rat with an umbrella, the caption read: Pom-Pond Girl?, (I guess the reporter didn't know she was actually a flag girl), and Mater Dei, (god that was a close one) to finally meet the El Rancho Dons at the Coliseum for the CIF 4-A Championship...and they KICKED our ass. I don't remember the score, but it was BAD! I was so heartbroken, I remember I cried all the way home from L.A. And when Diane finally got home that night she came in the front door with this foot long peppermint stick bawling like a baby, cuz it was her senior year and they had lost the final game of their odyssy, which is High-School, which got ME started all over again! Man, them was the days! But the one game that has and always will stick in my mind was that Wilson game. In fact, I still got the press clipping in a scrapbook somewhere.
If I run across it, I'll post it, it makes for exciting reading. The game was touch and go right from the start with Wilson grabbing an early lead and keeping it till late in the fourth quarter, when, if memory serves me, we intercepted a pass around mid-field or their 40 yard line. With only seconds remaining and down by I think 4 or 5 points you'd of thought that Ayala would've given the ball to workhorse fullback, #32-Mackey, which is probably what the Bruins thought, but instead, he flips a short pass to probably the smallest guy on the team, this little dude, their slot-back, #21-Jimmie Martinez. Time on the clock had already run out but this kid was running like the hounds of hell were on his trail. When they zigged, he zagged! All the way to the end-zone! The stands were going nutz! Man, now THOSE were the days! If I could have one wish, I would love to see a replay of that game, but since in those days they still listened to 8-tracks, I don't think VCR's had even been invented at that point, I guess I'll just have to be satisfied with my fading memories. I must've replayed that game a million times in my front yard as a kid. Aw nostalgia, not taking anything away from this years team, which was great and ranked one of the best in the state, if not the nation, it just isn't the same anymore. Or at least like it was in my junior year, '74, when we actually did win the 4-A CIF championship, and believe it or not, that's all a blur. But I guess that's life, huh? Pete Hernandez
1968 Lakewood vs. Millikan-Hamilton Trophy: In 1967, Millikan beat us for the first time in four years and rubbed it in pretty good. Their QB, Randy Rasmussen, had a big mouth and thought he was Mike Rae-WRONG. Well, in 1968, we were rolling along and Millikan was coming up. The week of the game, the coaching staff was as steady as usual, but happened to mention several times about the Rams QB mouthing off about beating us for the second year in a row. Well, everyone was getting a little pissed off and couldn't wait until Friday night. On Friday morning, when we got to school, the place had been "decorated" in Millikan colors! There was even a tomb stone with the following inscription: Here lies Big Red, looking so serene;
1965 Wilson Game: Reading Pete's account of the '67 Wilson game, I was reminded that Jim Martinez scored the only touchdown in our loss to the Bruins in 1965. It was our only loss that year. We played on a rain soaked Vet's Stadium field. This really favored Wilson because they were a much bigger team. In fact, I was suppose to play against their big offensive tackle, Sid Smith (245 lbs.). Since I was only 185 lbs, our defensive line positions were changed. Charlie Bell moved over to my position and I played heads up on a smaller guard. We practiced that week in the gym so no Wilson spies would see the change. If my memory serves me right, I believe Larry Crutchfield's father was Wilson's head coach. It was great that Jim, Larry, and the '66 team got revenge the following year. 1966 Lancers: One of my clearest memories of the 1966 season was the CIF game at Cerritos College against Centennial. We were playing against a great team with what was considered one of the finest running backs in the nation at the time, Mickey Cureton. The weather was absolutely terrible with rain and fog and at times the visibility on the field was no more than 20-30 feet. We contained Cureton and won the game but still remember my parents laugh that they hardly saw any of the game due to the visibility problems. What I also remember was how hard Coach Ford and the staff made development of individual discipline and respect for others. No success on or off the field was achieved without hard and disciplined work. These ideas ingrained on me by my parents and the coaching staff have served me well through my college years, military career, and in the raising of my own grown children. Once again thanks for the opportunity to share some of my memories on a great time in my life. Share Your Memories: Everyone has a story to tell. If you have a special memory about Lakewood Football, let us know about it! This page is for all those who've experienced the red & white first hand as either a player or a fan. So, come one, come all! This is for all classes, my friends. Feel free to drop me a line about your personal accounts of The Big Red Machine. Lucio |
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