Change of course for Vaqueros football

Glendale Coach John Rome said regardless of who the opponent is, improving on last year's 1-9 record, which made the team 2-18 over the past two seasons, will have to come from within.

"This year we think we've done a better job of bringing in student-athletes that are serious about both their academic success and their athletic success," Rome said. "We have a much larger group than in the past. ...We think we're improving athletically, we think we're improving what mattered and what mattered would be can we stop somebody on the defensive end."

While a clean slate could be refreshing, the new nonconference schedule also has the drawback of being less familiar from a scouting and preparation standpoint.

"To be real honest, we don't know much about them," Rome said of the nonconference opposition. "We haven't seen [Compton] on film. We know that traditionally they're a team that's sort of struggled a little bit with their records. They're very talented, but they've struggled in the past."

Indeed, Compton is coming off a winless season. San Bernardino, on the other hand, finished a more respectable 4-6.

"I know they've been fairly successful [recently]" Rome said of San Bernardino Valley, which defeated the Vaqueros at home in the teams' last meeting in 2003.

San Diego Mesa went 3-7 last year, as did Antelope Valley.

"They're in such a good area for athletics," Rome said of Antelope Valley. "Perry Jehlicka, the head coach, I think he does a good job and they're now winning games at a good rate, where in years past they had not done so."