Entering his second season, La Jolla High School (LJHS) football coach Rey Hernandez doesn’t know what to expect in the win-loss columns from his mostly-revamped roster. What he does expect of his group of young men is to steadily improve over the course of the year. “You’ve got to get better every day,” Hernandez said. “You want to be competitive, and if you can be competitive, then you can win on a weekly basis.” The Vikings finished 5-7 in 2009, including a first-round playoff win against Palo Verde (near Blythe). Their season ultimately came to an end against Division IV runner-up Valley Center in the second round. With much of the core of last year’s team lost to graduation, this season’s squad has a chance to prove itself. Starting quarterback Cory Wagner is one of the few returning players who contributed significantly in 2009. “I’m finally getting the chance to lead this team to hopefully a very winning season,” Wagner said. “I’ve got to make sure everybody’s hustling and doing what they’re supposed to do. It all starts with practice.” The Vikings’ Wing T offense revolves around a strong running attack with a lot of misdirection intended to confuse opposing defenses. The speedy Wagner will be in control of distributing the ball evenly and precisely to his three running backs in the backfield and to his solo wide receiver. Wagner will use play-action to keep opponents honest. “We’re looking to be a strong running team but we’re hoping that play-action pass is going to be problematic for people,” Hernandez said. On the defensive side of the ball, Hernandez hopes his team will show improvement. Behind a 3-4 linebacker-heavy scheme, La Jolla should get nice contributions from two seniors — defensive back Alex Damico and defensive lineman Patrick Haggerty. La Jolla opens up its regular season at home against Mt. Carmel on Sept. 3. The matchup serves as a way for players to show their coaches and fans how far they have come as a team since grueling summer workouts got under way. “In the first game, I’m looking for execution, effort and hustle,” Hernandez said. “Hopefully, we don’t have a lot of mental mistakes. That would be a good indicator that we’ve prepared well. We worked pretty hard this summer, so that’s encouraging.” The Vikings get a shot at redemption on Sept. 17 when they travel to Valley Center in a rematch of last year’s playoff loss. Other notable games include a rivalry showdown against Mission Bay High on Nov. 5. La Jolla wraps up its regular season on Nov. 12 when it welcomes Western League newcomer Madison High to La Jolla for the annual homecoming game. Hernandez said that although Mission Bay and Point Loma have dominated the Western League in recent years, those schools are undergoing major overhauls not unlike that of the Vikings. “The team that eventually wins it is going to be the team that improves the most from the beginning to the end,” Hernandez said.