The Rio Hondo Bobcats are coming off a 2024 season in which they shared the district crown.

A loss to Bishop early in the district season ultimately resulted in a three-way tie at the top.

This year, the team feels they have what it takes to claim another district championship.

"We're capable of winning the district title," Bobcats head coach Rocky James said. "I have a really good group of guys."

Rio Hondo's offense was elite at the 3A level. The team finished the season with five games of at least 50 points, scoring 70+ in two of those games.

They'll return running back Mario Lopez who rushed for 23 touchdowns and over 1,000 yards last season as a sophomore.

However, the team will have a new quarterback running the show.

"Our quarterback Matthew Lopez is gonna step in. I know he'll do a great job," Coach James said. "Our offensive line, everybody came back except one guy. I think our offensive line is gonna be a big key for us this year and Mario running the ball, obviously."

Matthew Lopez says he knows the team is leaning on him, but he's ready for the challenge. He highlighted his extra time spent in the film room over the past few years with Bobcats coaches as one of the major keys to preparing him to step into a starting role.

"It's an honor to take over being the quarterback of the Bobcats," he said. "We have all the weapons, returning O-Line... We're gonna be good this year."

The junior QB also feels the team has what it takes to continue the success from year's past.

"We don't have {as many players} as last year, but we're all in good shape," Matthew Lopez said. "The coaches said it {themselves}, this is the best shape one of our football teams has been in the past couple years. I know we've got a lot of toughness on our team. A lot of our kids play both sides of the ball and we're ready for it."

"We're coming off a fantastic year," Bobcats junior running back Mario Lopez added. "We have really expectations from last year. Obviously it's the same every year, but it all starts here in practice."

The Bobcats have a three-game non-district schedule before jumping into the district season in Week 4. Their first two district games are against the two teams they tied with atop the district last year, San Diego and Bishop.