The Mesa College Olympians defeated their first opponent of the year, L.A. Valley, 33-27. Last year the Olympians finished below .500, with a 4-6 overall and 3-4 in the PCAC (Pacific Coast Athletic Conference).

This year Mesa has a new head coach taking over the reigns; Peter Lofthouse will be looking to improve upon the positives and clean house on the negatives. He has had previous coaching stints with Citrus College, Texas Lutheran, and Baylor University.

Offensive Tackle Michael Chevalier believes, “Coach Lofthouse came and in and really changed the culture here and made it a real nice program for the guys here. I think he’s going to create a real nice legacy at Mesa.”

Starting Saftey and Team Captain, Stephen Adegoke, complemented his fellow teammate when discussing Lofthouse; “He brings a lot of enthusiasm and new energy, which is something we need around here and guys feel it, they’re inspired. When you have some one who is enthusiastic and loves their job, he drives two hours to get here everyday, and comes with a positive attitude, it sinks inside all the guys on the team and we are ready to work hard for him.”

Coach Lofthouse brought with him an almost entire new group of coach’s. “We’ve brought in some new staff, brought in a lot of local guys, and really stressed on developing a strong running game. This is a group of kids that really care about this program and what we are doing here. They know what they need to do to be successful and are anxious to go out on the field and execute.” Coach’s added to the staff this season include; Offensive line coach Dan Lewis, Quarterback coach Loren Snyder, Defensive back coach/ head recruiter Jerrmaine McDonald, Linebacker coach Mike Dutra, and Defensive line coaches Doug Williams and Fernando Huerta.

Coach Lofthouse made clear that, “This is a one game season, it doesn’t matter who we play next week or in two weeks, all we are focused on is this week. After that week we will strive to get better and improve on what we lack, but it’s all just one step at a time.”

There are several players to keep an eye on this year. Starting with Left Tackle Michael Chevalier, Center Michael Hastings, Guard David Dillard, Wide Receiver/ Running back Davion Fuller, and Running back Darryl Dave. Standouts on defense include Safety Stephen Adegoke, Linebackers Marcel Peters and Astian Agraz, and Defensive linemen Aaron Nelson, Matt Morrow, and Jamel Logan.