For the first time in program history, the Lady Lancers reached CIF-SS playoffs, concluding their season in the quarterfinals with an overall record of 16-9 and a 6-2 league record. 

“The season was a success, I would say,” head coach Troy Nelson said. “We had a lot of ups and downs in the beginning, but then we finished off very strong by winning league and making it to quarterfinals.”

The team did well when learning new plays and adjusting old ones during the season, Nelson said.

“We had to switch during the middle of the year to having two blockers and changing our offense a little bit, but they handled that really well,” he said. 

Co-captain quarterback sophomore Solaio Arredondo said the team adjusted their play by moving the blockers closer to the line of scrimmage instead of right next to her, the quarterback, because they would frequently collide with each other. 

“We compromised and figured they could start closer to the line of scrimmage, and then I was able to throw comfortably,” she said. “This also helped when one of our blockers would get beat, I would have a little more time to scramble or roll out.”

The team started off their season with several wins, including a 41–0 shutout win over Woodrow Wilson High School (3-9). However, they faced difficulties in certain matchups, leading to close–call victories. 

For Arredondo, she said the toughest game was a league game against La Habra High School (3-3), in which the Highlanders were up by one score and the Lady Lancers only had one drive left to score with 30 seconds on the clock.

“We scored, we forced it into overtime, we scored again, and then we forced it into double overtime, and then Annalise got the game winning pick and secured that win for us,” she said. “So it was a huge team effort, and that’s a moment that I’ll never forget.”

Co-captain center, outside linebacker and wide receiver junior Annalise Glynn said the 6-0 win against Foothill was the most notable game because it secured the team’s first league championship.

“It came down to a last minute touchdown, and I scored in overtime,” Glynn said. “We were all celebrating after we got that win; we were all so excited and happy and jumping around.”

After taking home first place in the North Hills League, the Lady Lancers moved on to the CIF-SS playoffs and won 26-12 against California High School (8-0) and 20-0 against Moorpark High School (3-4). 

Nelson said the team trained during the CIF-SS season as normally as possible without depleting the players’ strengths.

“We practiced pretty much the same way we did the entire year, with the only difference being on Fridays, when we didn’t weightlift as we usually do, because I didn’t want the girls to be sore for the CIF games on Saturdays,” he said.

The team advanced to quarterfinals, where they faced a 6-0 loss to La Serna High School (5-2-1) despite playing their best, Glynn said.

“We played against that team previously, and we had a bad game against them,” she said. “We did good during the quarterfinals, but it was nerve wracking being there, and since we had already lost to them, we just struggled with the little things and it didn’t work out for us.”

Even after losing games, Glynn said she always tried to motivate the team and keep their spirits up.

“It’s tough overcoming after having a bad game, but at the end of the day, especially for us captains, we had to pick up our team,” she said. “We try to get more energy, to be more excited and try to kind of turn things around.”

Reflecting on the season, Nelson said the team had grown considerably since last season.

“It was amazing that we were able to try new things and know what we’re doing and be more confident this year,” he said.

For the next flag football season, Arredondo said the team will move on to the Freeway League because they won the North Hills League. 

“We just went into a higher league, so I’d say winning league would be huge for us again,” Arredondo said. “And of course, we want to make it into CIF next year.”

Glynn said she wants her team to continue improving on the progress they made in the next year.

“I assume we’re going to be in a more challenging league, but I just hope that we continue with the mindset we had this year and build off what our coaches have said this entire year,” she said. “If we just keep pushing through, taking it game by game, then I know we’ll do really well.”