By Gary Ellis

Lakewood High faced with a "must" win, downed Poly 27-7 Friday night behind three Mike Rae touchdown passes. The game from the opening kickoff was shrouded in pea soup fog and most of the 12,000 fans in Veterans Stadium had to rely on the announcer's calls.

The Lancers' defense, except for a 32-yard pass from Jim Lemmon to Maurice Anderson, played superbly, holding the Jackrabbits four times within the Lancer 20. Tom Knudson, who spearheaded the charging Lakewood line, also scored the first touchdown for Big Red by blocking a Poly punt in the end zone.

Lakewood, which lost its first Moore League game to El Rancho, was faced with a must win. A loss to the Rabbits, who had lost previously only to St. Paul, would have put them out of the Moore League race.

The fog hampered the pass-minded Lancers. Unable to pass the Lancers relied on the running of Al Lemmerman, who carried 30 times for 162 yards. Following the blocked punt by Knudson, the fog lifted long enough for Rae to find Kim Hannaford on a 53-yard scoring aerial. The Lancers took the second half kickoff and Rae marched his team 67 yards in 12 plays before hitting Hannaford on a 12-yard TD pass.

With 1:27 remaining in the fourth quarter, Rae found sophomore Rick Gillies on a 13-yard pass. The drive went 70 yards in 13 plays. The Lancers, fired up from the opening kickoff, were shackled with 116 yards in penalties and three Lancer fumbles ended scoring threats.

Go Lancers!