The Lancers will host Mesa Verde in their home opener on Friday, Aug. 29 inside Lancer Stadium, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. 

RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) - After an offseason of preparation and hard work, the Cordova Lancers are ready for those beautiful Friday night lights. 

Coming off a season in which the team narrowly missed out on the California Interscholastic Federation Sac Joaquin Section Division II playoffs a year ago, the Lancers are chomping at the bit to get the ball rolling on a brand-new campaign.

Under third-year head coach JP Dolliver, the Lancers will return several young players who helped the program have their most success since 2018, finishing with a 6-4 overall record. 

Offensively, junior quarterback Trey Wallace figures to be the straw the stirs the drink for the Lancers this fall.

Last year, Wallace threw for 1145 passing yards and nine touchdowns in his nine starts and also led the team in rushing with 371 yards and five additional scores using his legs.

The young signal caller put in a ton of work in the weight room during the offseason, adding 20 pounds of muscle in effort to deal with the physical nature of a long season.

The Lancers will travel to Sheldon in their season opener on Friday, Aug. 22. Kickoff is set for 7:15 p.m.

Additionally, junior running back Zachary McIntire will be relied upon heavily in the run game. Wallace will also have a solid group of wide receivers to throw to, including senior Damajae Moses and newcomer Carnell Jones, who transferred from Del Campo to Cordova for his senior year. Both McIntire and Moses were named to the All-Metro League Second Team last fall. 

Defensively, it all starts up front for Cordova. The unit is led by senior defensive tackle Julian Drahn, who led the team in total tackles (74) and sacks (8.0) a season ago en route to All-Metro League First Team honors. Additionally, juniors Terryn "TK" King and Masiyah Mejia will be counted on to make an impact as well. 

After a 2-1 start in league competition last fall in what was the Lancers' first year in the Metro League, the team stumbled down the stretch as they faced tough opponents. This year, Dolliver knows that his team will need to be playing their best football when the games matter the most. 

"Playing in the Metro is one of the more daunting tasks for any team," Dolliver said. "You've got your blend of programs like Kennedy and McClatchy that are going to be well-coached, then you've got Destiny Christian and Grant who had been on the rise and now they're at the top of the food chain. You have West Park who is always going to be consistent. Just playing well and showing well is the most important. Of course you want to win games but you want to make sure you come out and you show well."

Each season is its own entity however, and then after several months of putting in the time and effort necessary to get better, Dolliver is pleased with how his team looks. 

"The kids have a really good positive outlook," Dolliver said. "They've put the work in. The weight room has been good all year. I think the preparation...We've set the table to have a real good season. I think for the most part our guys are just really, really excited about getting started."

The Lancers will take to the field for their first game Aug. 22 when they travel to Sheldon High School to face the Huskies. Kickoff is set for 7:15 p.m.