| LAKEWOOD - The Milk Bucket that the Lakewood High and Mayfair football teams play for is old and dirty and certainly, Lancers coach Thadd MacNeal would never even think about drinking out of it. Having it in his office is good enough for him. Junior running back Alex Fletcher ran for 136 yards on 18 carries and scored three touchdowns as Lakewood defeated the Monsoons 40-3 Friday night in a nonleague game at Bellflower High. The win by the Lancers avenges their 42-41 loss to Mayfair last season, but more importantly, Lakewood finally earned its first win of the season after two defeats.
"I don't think I'll be drinking out of the bucket," MacNeal said. "But winning the bucket means the pride of Lakewood is back and we get to cherish it for one year. It also means that our seniors get the legacy of beating Mayfair in their last game against them. "We have a good running game and when we execute our assignments, we can be a pretty good team."
After two losses, this game shows the character of this team. Tonight, we did a better job of executing and that's why we won." The Lancers wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, posting a touchdown on their second possession to take a 7-0 lead when Vincent Abbott scored from 2 yards out. In the second quarter, Lakewood went up 14-0 when Fletcher scored the first of his three touchdowns, this one on a 14-yard run with 3:41 remaining, and the Lancers took a two-touchdown lead into halftime.
Once the third quarter began, Fletcher put the game away. He scored five minutes into the second half on a 1-yard run and later, he caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Jesse Scroggins to extend the Lancers' lead to 27-0. "Winning the bucket means everything to us," Fletcher said. "We worked so hard because we wanted it back so bad. Our offensive line did a great job tonight and they're the main reason why I scored three touchdowns. Tonight, they came ready to play."
The Monsoons (1-2), on the other hand, had a tough time moving the ball all game long and Lakewood did a good job of stopping Mayfair running back Cory Norman, who was held to just 28 yards on 14 carries. The Monsoons managed to get on the scoreboard and avoid being shut out in the fourth quarter when senior kicker Chad Prusha booted a 30-yard field goal. "Lakewood is a very good team and they're very well coached," Mayfair co-coach Mike Fitch said. "They executed well and they deserve the bucket. Tonight, they beat us at our own game. They ran the ball well and they played excellent defense. "We're not going to make any excuses, but we still believe we're a good team. It's only a preseason game and we still have a chance to accomplish our goals like winning the Suburban League and practicing on Thanksgiving Day. We will not go into the tank."
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