By Cameran Wall /Staff Writer
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Photos by Shelby Ray
After weeks of grueling practices and two-a-days, the young Lancers football team still shows room for improvement after Friday’s scrimmages against Long Beach Jordan and Banning high schools, said Head Football Coach Steve Hagerty.
The team needs to replace 37 seniors who graduated after last season, including four players who have gone on to Division I colleges.
In addition to that, the team is working with a revamped coaching staff as they try to make a second consecutive appearance in the CIF playoff.
“I am anxious to see our kids perform,” said Coach Hagerty. “We play for keeps and it’ll be exciting to watch.”
However, they face a tough schedule including non-league games against back-to-back state champion St. Bonaventure from Ventura. The Lancers also take on Dominguez, West Covina, and Damien.
Add that to the state’s arguably toughest league, the Lancers need to gain all the experience they can.
After Friday’s scrimmage Coach Hagerty said the team has a long way to go to play that difficult schedule.
“We got a long way to go,” he said. “We have a lot of potential, but we made a lot of mistakes. We played average, but I saw some really good things.”
Of the players returning, the Lancers will probably lean heavily on the legs of junior Jay Anderson and returning starting quarterback Jerry Maclanahan. Defensive Backs Davis Cazares, Darien Johnson, along with Defensive Lineman Daniel Kane hope to lead the Amat defense.
Coach Hagerty said backup quarterback junior Tyler Pruzinski performed great in the scrimmage.
“Tyler Pruzinski performed greatly,” said Hagerty. “But if our first game was today, No. 7 (Maclanahan) would be lined up under center.”
The Lancers are also awaiting decisions about the eligibility of transfer linebacker junior Austin Lacey.
