By Nicholas Orozco, Sports Editor
The Valley College football team will see new faces as conference opponents are being rotated between the colleges.
The Monarchs finished last season 3-7 with a 2-3 conference record. Valley faced conference opponents Antelope Valley, Santa Barbara, Moorpark, Santa Monica and LA Pierce. The only two conference wins came late for Valley, beating Santa Monica and Pierce in the last two games of the season.
This coming season, Valley will now face LA Southwest, Glendale and Pasadena, replacing Santa Barbara, Moorpark and Antelope Valley on the schedule. Of the three new opponents, the Monarchs will likely struggle against the Vaqueros of Glendale. Last season Glendale finished with an overall of 5-5. Glendale battled for the Metro League title against Citrus College, the Vaqueros ultimately dropped the title game, 42-21.
Southwest finished its season with a 0-10 record, with their highest scoring game occurring against the Monarchs, losing 45-32. The Cougars would be blown out in all their conference matchups, forfeiting their last game of the season. With their performance last year and dropping a game to the Monarchs, Southwest does not seem as they will be a difficult opponent.
The Lancers of Pasadena City College could be the Monarchs' most even matchup. Last season, they finished at 5-5 overall and 2-3 in conference. With their wins coming from similar opponents that the Monarchs lost against, Moorpark and Victor Valley.
With how the Monarchs performed last season, it is tough the tell how they will do next season as their new opponents will prove to be a challenge. Last season the Monarchs had seven Southern California Football Association, All-Conference players. They included Jason Wagner, Michael Clark, Vicente Zepeda, Dennis Wallace, Andre Washington, PJ Trusty and Jamar Walker. Most notably coming out of Valley was Vernon Tucker. Tucker was a linebacker for the Monarchs who could play inside or out and will be transferring into University of Michigan in the fall.
Valley will struggle as their luck of the draw was not the greatest with their new opponents.