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Football Lakewood Wilson

PREVIEW: Lakewood vs. Wilson, Football

There will be a major shift in the Moore League football standings after Lakewood hosts Wilson tonight at 7. The winner will jump into a tie for second place with Millikan, and the loser will fall into a three-way tie for fourth place outside of the playoff picture.

“We are treating every week like a playoff game,” Wilson coach Mark Ziegenhagen said. “We expect a real fight on Friday night.”

Wilson (4-3, 2-1) has allowed more than 14 points only once in its last five games, and Lakewood (1-5, 1-1) has rushed for 387 yards in two league games, so this contest will likely be decided in the trenches when the Lancers have the ball.

Lakewood junior running back James Voorhies has rushed for 280 yards and two touchdowns in his only league starts behind the offensive line of Faio Tautai, Chase Carter, Joshua Palu, Dalton McAllister and Zach Meyers. That rushing attack will get even better tonight with the return of senior All-Moore League running back Sebastian Kronberger (knee) who has been out for a month.

“I told the team all week to not let their record fell you,” Ziegenhagen said of Lakewood. “This will be the best 1-5 team we will face. They are physical, and they come after you.”

Wilson knew Jordan would run the ball last week, and held the Panthers to less than ten net rushing yards. The defensive line of Gio Fiderio, Julian Valencia and Angel Guzman combined for 20 tackles, four sacks and three tackles for loss and two forced fumbles in the win. Senior Zion Okuoha has also contributed 18 solo tackles at nose guard this season.

Junior linebacker Ethan Moxley leads the Bruins with 59 tackles, and Logan Ziegenhagen is second with 40, but the junior will be out tonight with an injury. Junior Brett Dowgiewicz will move back to inside linebacker to fill the hole. He is third on the team with 38 tackles.

Wilson has won its last three games against Lakewood after the Lancers had won 13 consecutive meetings. Last year was the first time in more than a decade that a school other than Lakewood or Wilson finished second in the Moore League.

JJ Fiddler
JJ Fiddler is an award-winning sportswriter and videographer who has been covering Southern California sports for multiple newspapers and websites since 2004. After attending Long Beach State and creating the first full sports page at the Union Weekly Newspaper, he has been exclusively covering Long Beach prep sports since 2007.
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