Last year, the Lancer football team finished the season with a record of 8-2 and made it to the District Tournament.

This year, Head Coach Boyd Manne said he has an experienced team.

“I believe our senior leadership is very good. Our players have put in a lot of work in the off-season,” Manne said, “They are really a fun group to coach. We have great team chemistry.”

One of those players is Senior Robby Preckel, who worked to gain 30 pounds during the off-season. His teammates look to him as a leader for the team as they prepare for their first game against Parkway North, Aug. 30 at 6 p.m.

“[The team energy] is exciting because its our first game and it’s a very big, hyped game,” Preckel said.

Manne hopes the team can perform even better than they did previously.

“I expect our team to play really hard and be competitive. We also have team goals of winning a Conference Championship, a District Championship and seeing how far we can advance in the State Tournament,” Manne said.

Last year, Lafayette lost to Francis Howell in the second round of the District Tournament. Manne is making key improvements this season as he plans for the Lancers to  make it deeper into the post-season. 

“It’s important to improve on establishing our line of scrimmage with our offensive and defensive lines, and being able to control the running game,” Manne said.