Football is back! After some rough seasons, San Marcos Football has a new coach and a new attitude. The Royals have started the year off strong with two wins. One at home in front of an amazing crowd against Morro Bay and one up in Santa Maria. 

“It’s been a great start to the season,” says junior Safety Malik Darcus. “Starting off with these two wins is a really big confidence booster for us, putting us on track for success all season. I think this season is going to be fun and memorable for all of us players and all of the fans”

One of the Royals best performers so far this year is Andre McCullough. He has been the standout running back so far leading the Royals offense to success in game. The Royals pride themselves on running the ball and McCullough along with the offensive line has helped them do just that. 

_{Photos courtesy of Shannen Brice.}

Another standout for the Royals is Lance Bermudes who is all over the field on both offense and defense making tackles all game long as well as catching passes from the quarterback Joaquin Sandoval. 

The team has rallied behind the new head coach and culture reset this offseason. Coach Molina has the team believing that it is their time to win and that they can change the program’s trajectory this season. The team has great chemistry as most of the senior class have all been playing together since freshman year. Playing together for that long leads to the team having good on field communication. 

The Royals fell to the dons in the big game by a score of 40-7. It wasn’t a pretty game but the royals will look to bounce back against the rest of their non conference schedule. The Royals have non conference games until October first, they will then play Ventura, Channel Islands, Buena, Cabrillo and Santa Ynez to end off the regular season. The Royals will hope to take their early season success and turn it into fuel for the conference schedule for the rest of the regular season. Though the season is young, it has already filled the school with a newfound sense of excitement and school spirit this year.