The Lakewood football program got a confidence-building win last week to kick off coach Justin Utupo’s fourth season leading his alma mater.

The Lancers pulled off a 20-17 comeback win at home against Carlsbad, one of the CIF San Diego Section’s best programs, on Friday.

It was a big win because Utupo’s team topped a squad led by Thadd MacNeal, the former Lakewood coach that Utupo played for before going on to play college football at Notre Dame.

Lakewood’s offense Friday was anchored by senior running back Josiah “JoJo” Apisala’s performance of 156 yards rushing and one touchdown on 26 carries.

Junior quarterback Kade Casillas went 5 of 12 passing for 92 yards and one touchdown. Casillas also ran for 100 yards and one touchdown on four carries, highlighted by a key 71-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Junior tight end Caleb Tafua, a four-star recruit with offers from Power 4 Division I programs, had four receptions for 46 yards.

Lakewood will be at St. Anthony (0-1) on Thursday.

CalPreps rankings

The CalPreps CIF Southern Section rankings, which will be used at the end of the regular season to determine playoff divisions and seeding, have already seen major movement after the Week 0 games.

Despite a 34-27 win against Chaminade-Madonna in Florida, St. John Bosco (1-0) has dropped to No. 4 in the CIF-SS rankings. The Braves had been No. 2 in the preseason rankings. Mater Dei (1-0) is No. 1, Corona Centennial (0-1) rose to No. 2 and Mission Viejo (2-0) climbed to No. 3.

Los Alamitos (1-0) is at No. 11 after a 71-0 win at home against Western last week. The Griffins were ranked No. 9 during preseason.

Warren (0-1) dropped to No. 19 from No. 16. Poly (0-1) rose to No. 18 from No. 20 after a 63-20 loss at Folsom, which is ranked No. 25 in the nation by CalPreps.

Downey (1-0) rose to No. 35 from No. 39.

Lakewood (1-0) rose 65 spots to No. 37 from No. 102 after a 20-17 upset win at home against Carlsbad. The Lancers are now regarded by CalPreps as the sixth-highest rated team in the Press-Telegram area.

Mayfair (0-1) dropped to No. 61 from No. 50.

Millikan (0-1) dropped to No. 85 from No. 76.

St. Pius X-St. Matthias (0-1) dropped to No. 114 from No. 96.

Lynwood ready to get back on track

Lynwood has not won a CIF-SS football title since 1980 but after back-to-back playoff appearances by the Knights, their championship quest begins again at home against South Gate (1-0) Thursday night.

Lynwood went 9-5 overall and 1-3 in the Mid-Cities League last season. The Knights’ season ended with a second consecutive loss in the CIF-SS Division 14 championship game.

“Coming off another CIF loss we’re looking to finish the mission this season,” Lynwood coach DeAndre Pryor said.

St. Joseph’s flag football team No. 1

The St. Joseph girls flag football team is ranked No. 1 in the nation and the state by MaxPreps.

St. Joseph is 4-0 overall with wins against rival Mater Dei, Cypress, Esperanza and Downey.

Sophomore quarterback Lexi Loya has completed 77 of 124 attempts for 936 yards for 11 touchdowns and six interceptions. Loya is also the team’s leading rusher with 114 yards on 11 carries.

Freshman receivers Jaclynn Brennan and Luella Volkoff have combined for 27 receptions and seven touchdowns.

On defense, junior Sophia Ochoa leads the team with 17 tackles. Senior Lauren Felix has four sacks. Senior Aubree Mellana has three interceptions that she has returned for 109 yards.

Poly (3-2) is ranked No. 22 in California and No. 25 in the nation by MaxPreps.