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By Loren Kopff
Sport Editor | Follow X
August 12, 2026
For those who have been familiar with the Norwalk High football program since the mid 2000’s, the most noticeable aspect has been the double wing offense. For those who haven’t followed the Lancers program since former head coach Dean Gray began the first of his two stints in 2005, this season might not seem like much has changed. But as we enter the 2026 season, Norwalk ushes in the program’s fifth head coach since 2008 and eighth in the past 29 seasons.
With that comes an entirely new offense and the birth of the new Suburban Valley Conference in which the team will be part of the Mid-Cities League. Anthony Cobbs takes over for Ruben Guerrero, who had handled the program for five successful seasons, compiling a 37-18 record with four trips to the CIF-Southern Section playoffs.
Cobbs, who was hired right before spring ball, has never been a head coach before, recently was a staff member at St. Anthony High but has also spent time at his alma mater, Long Beach Poly High and has spent time at Golden West College and Lawndale High.
“I thank Ruben Guerrero every day because he left the cupboard full; big, strong, respectful young men at this school,” said Cobbs. “My coaching staff walked into a situation that was just ready to go. The talent is here, the enthusiasm is here, the hunger is here. There just needs some motivation, and I brought along a few coaches who I know who are experts at that as far as relationships and teaching.
“I think on top of what the double wing brought as far as a tenacity and identity, it’s okay for the regular season; it’s okay for league,” he added. “But when you get to the playoffs, you have to have a little bit more. So I think the foundation is here to have a dominant team, but one that wins championships. It takes a little bit more innovation; a little bit more forward thinking, a little bit more studying and learning the game of what the big boys do.”
Cobbs added that the Lancers have a very strong team as is, but he is going to make sure he adds the necessary weapons that are missing, which are a passing attack and more sophisticated defensive schemes.
Kevin Cabot, Chris Castro and Juventino Liera, the defensive line coach from Guerrero’s staff, will be part of the new era of Norwalk football. Cobbs had been told by former mentors that it’s best to bring in three coaches from the previous head coaching staff who the players liked the most to be part of the new staff.
Cobbs watched last season’s playoff loss to Warren High and could tell that the Lancers weren’t really enthusiastic and weren’t really confident. He knew there was something missing there.
“The way I like to approach football from when I was a player and when I was a coach is that they have to deal with us,” said Cobbs. “I just think the expectation of winning; the expectation of dominance can’t just be because we’re bigger and stronger. It has to be because our preparation was better, our attention to detail was better and the way we love our kids is what is going to help them become more confident in them and will resonate with their life. I hope we can win a championship, but I’m more concerned about them being good men.”
OFFENSE
The Lancers scored 324 points under the double wing offense last season and graduated all but three yards of the 3,055 rushing yards and all but 51 of the 3,266 total yards and all 211 passing yards.
“We’re retooling the entire offense,” said Cobbs. “We don’t have a returning starter we expect to have 1,000 yards or a returning quarterback who is going to run the offense. We have a new set of quarterbacks, we have a new set of running backs and our [offense] is steady with the likes of [senior] Zion Burris, [senior] Bobby Fanelli, and [senior] Daniel Garcia. We have enough guys up front that I’m confident in that no matter what offense we run, we’re going to have several backs who will have 500 yards or more.”
Cobbs added that he won’t have a running back that will crack the 1,000-yard plateau. Instead, he found six or seven wide receivers who are capable of catching the football. He also has up to seven players who could very well line up behind center as the signal caller. As of two and a half weeks before the season opener, he had not decided on a starting signal caller. But the ones in the mix are seniors Chaz Barnhill, Johnniele Madera, who was injured as a sophomore while at Compton High, juniors Julian Lewis and David Pelayo.
“I’m making the team think about this differently,” said Cobbs. “The next man up is not just position guys; it’s the quarterback, too. Every position that we have, we’re going to roll two deep, at least. I want to be comfortable enough running the football no matter who we have at quarterback. As long as we don’t turn it over, we’re going to be just fine.”
Running the ball will be seniors Jordan Ballenger, Jayden Barrios, Erick Dominguez, Fanelli, David Ibarra and a few more sprinkles throughout the year, as Cobbs indicated. Slated as the wide receivers are seniors Riley Howard and Miguel Urueta, who will be the tight end, and juniors Lucas Lewis, Andrew Sanchez, Isaac Segura and Andrew Tiaesca. “We’re going to have fun this year,” said Cobbs. “We’re going to have a steady, disciplined attack, but I want to have a wrinkle every game. I want to be able to give a senior the football and put him in like [former Chicago Bears defensive tackle William ‘The Refrigerator’ Perry]. I want to be able to have some fun out there. I’m always open to using our talent, and I don’t want to just be stuck with one player needing all the love. I have a heavy senior-ladened team, and I want them to have memories that last a lifetime.”
The offensive line sets up with Burris, Fanelli when he’s not running the ball, seniors Onosai Faamatau, Matthew Galvez and Kevin Rivera, but will be moved around up front at the guard positions a lot.
DEFENSE
While the offense will look vastly different this season and players will be jumped around from one position to another, it’s completely different on the other side of the ball. The Lancers return nine of the 11 starters from last season, where they allowed over 30 points only once and limited six of the last seven opponents [the Firebaugh High game was a forfeit victory] to under 20 points.
Juniors Marcus Castillo (47 tackles last season) and Marcus Ceja will solidify the defensive end positions with Fanelli playing defensive tackle. Also playing some time on the line will be junior Evan Dougherty and sophomore Matthew Linares.
The secondary is a bit of making something out of nothing as Cobbs found a pair of quarterbacks, Lewis and Pelayo, who aren’t starting at that position but are now the starting cornerbacks. Senior Joshua Ayala and Joseph Ochoa (17 tackles), who were linebackers last season, will handle the safety positions. Senior Josh Rodriguez (27 tackles) and juniors Geovanny Corona and Andrew Sanchez could also find time in the secondary along with Ibarra, who might be scattered throughout the defense.
Dominguez (10 tackles), who is also the starting tailback, is expected to be the team’s top linebacker along with Faamatau (67 tackles), Noah Gonzalez, Adrian Napier, Ibarra and Ochoa.
“There’s a lot of guys who are going to move around,” said Cobbs. “My whole thing is we have a bunch of kids whose culture was just to bully and manhandle people. My philosophy is a little bit different. I played rover, corner, free safety and linebacker when I played. My whole thing was to be a versatile player, so when I put you in the game, you’re not shellshocked.”
SCHEDULE
Norwalk begins the season with Lawndale High, presumably the first meeting between the two schools, before hitting the road for three straight contests. The Lancers have lost nine straight games against former Suburban League rival La Mirada High since a 2013 victory (42-27). That season, the purple and gold fell in the CIF-SS finals to La Serna High. Norwalk defeated Pasadena High 42-24 and Venice High 28-27 last season. When league play commences, the Lancers play California High for the first time since 2019 before reuniting a common rivalry with Gahr High who they have won two straight games against. Norwalk has won two straight against Santa Fe High, four straight against Bellflower High and is 2-3 against Paramount High since 2004.
“I’m blessed to have a team where I don’t care about who we play against,” said Cobbs. “I’ve always been on a team that could care less who the opponent was. When I was little, our coach instilled in us it doesn’t matter who we play. If you prepare what you do the best, it’s going to be successful no matter who you play against.
“I don’t really care about La Mirada,” he continued. “I don’t care about Venice; I don’t care about West Covina, who they have and what they do. All I care about is what we do. If we do what we do well, we’re going to be successful. And yes, we’re supposed to lose to La Mirada because historically, they’ve had a stronger team. I have no recollection of that. That’s not who I am; I don’t care. They’ve got to have a guy that’s big as Robert Fanelli. They’ve got to have a guy as big as Zion Burris. They’ve got to have a guy as athletic as Julian Lewis.”
Cobbs did say that Gahr’s offensive coordinator Jordan Simpson is one of his best friend’s son and knows that the Gladiators operate a pro style offense similar to what the Lancers will be running. Cobbs also predicted that the final regular season game against Paramount will be for the league title.
HOMECOMING
Norwalk’s homecoming game will be the latest in the season out of the seven area schools as it will have to wait until the eighth week before it can have all the pomp and circumstance. Dating back to 1998, the Lancers have split their four meetings with the Sentinels, losing in 1998 and 1999 by a combined score of 58-7 before winning in 2024, 48-13, and in the second game last season, 35-20. Last season, Norwalk obliterated Compton Early College 70-0 to improve to 17-10 in homecoming games since 1998.
FINAL COMMENT
“I’m just excited about the season,” said Cobbs. “We have a system that’s working, and the kids have bought in; kids are coming into the weight room. From when I first got the keys to 6 a.m. workouts, we had 85 kids at 6 a.m. and I was in there with them. They were my students before they were my athletes, and they were kind of like, ‘if you took the job, we would really be excited about it’. So I’m very excited about the future. Like I said, this group is special and I have a five-year plan.”
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