This preview is the third in a series of articles highlighting the local 11-man high school football teams ahead of the 2026 season, which begins with Week Zero on Friday, Aug. 21.
After back-to-back years of CIF-SS playoff appearances, San Marcos football experienced the biggest shakeup of any local program this offseason.
Bishop Diego graduate and former College of Idaho wide receiver Isaiah Veal took over the head coaching position for the Royals after most recently serving as an assistant coach at Bishop Diego.
Veal, who finished his playing days in 2022, brings with him a youthful staff that boasts plenty of football experience that will guide a young squad looking to make it three straight postseason campaigns.
“We all are young, but we’re trying to put people wrong, so I’m looking forward to it,” Veal said of the team. “A lot of our coaches we have are young, but we’re passionate, and I think the kids really believe in that.
“Our expectations are to win, point blank period.”
A New Philosophy
While San Marcos football teams of recent years have been built around a strong defensive mindset, Veal is bringing with him a more modern approach that is offensive-minded and “big on physicality and violence.”
“We want to get the ball out fast to our playmakers, get them in space and then take shots down the field,” Veal said. “We have a lot of talented guys, and a lot of guys that can do things. I think being able to spread the ball out and get different players’ hands is a big benefit to the offense’s success.
“We want to try and score 40 points a game. That’s a goal of ours. Getting different guys touches forces the defense to guard everybody and not just one thing.”
Senior quarterback Hayden Feleay will be in the middle of the revamped offense after starting under center for the Royals last season in a ground-and-pound offensive scheme.
Feleay has seen the makeup of the team evolve alongside the playbook throughout the offseason.
“We have some absolute killers. Every single person on this squad is ridiculous and driven,” Feleay said. “Every single person on the team wants to beat every single team by 50. It’s a crazy flip.
“We had some great players (last season) and great coaches all around. We were doing well, and we did well. And this year we are, in my opinion, 20 times better.”
Feleay will have several options around him in terms of playmakers, from returning All-League honorees to first-time varsity starters. Senior wideout Isaac Murillo is coming off an All-League First Team campaign, while senior running back Tommy Diaz will step into the lead back role.
“A lot of work is done in the offseason,” Diaz said. “I hope to be a big contributor to this team. I wasn’t really last year, so that would be great to be able to contribute a lot.
“I really like this new offense that we’re running. It’s a lot different from last year. It’s getting the ball around to everyone.”
While the on-field play will have a different look this season, the program has also shifted off the field with Veal at the helm. The shift was powered by a change in practice schedule and a more trimmed-down roster heading into the season, something he took from his time under head coach Tom Crawford at Bishop Diego.
“Initially, it just starts with getting the kids disciplined in terms of early morning practice and lift sessions, filming everything… just getting the guys used to the regiment of a hard schedule,” Veal said of building the program in the offseason.
“[Bishop] was a smaller program, so we had success because of our physicality, our ability to move people at the line of scrimmage, making plays and buying into the weight room… So we’re trying to do that here, and really build that philosophy of we are violent, physical players.”
Diaz has also seen this change in roster makeup translate to stronger team chemistry compared to years past.
“Although we do have a little bit fewer people, I think that we’re all together as a family,” Diaz said.
High Hopes Heading Into Season
Despite the flurry of changes to the program during the offseason, the goals remain the same from coaching staff to players for the Royals: win.
“We do expect to win, and our goal is to win,” Veal said. “We know it’s a tough league, so that means just each week we’ve got to prepare and keep it one day at a time.”
The Tri-County League, which features San Marcos, Dos Pueblos, Hueneme, Santa Paula, Fillmore and Royal, has been one of the most competitive in the area in the past two years. It may take another step up in competitiveness this season, as two-time defending league champion Agoura has made the move to the Coastal 101 League.
While the Royals have been one of four teams in each of the past two seasons to reach the CIF-SS postseason out of the Tri-County League, they have dropped their playoff opener in each of those seasons.
“That success was great,” Feleay said of the last two playoff seasons. “Those big wins definitely keep our standards high, and we’re not letting anything fall off, for sure.
“Numbers last year were a lot higher, and this year we brought it down to the guys who were just gonna make or break, and we’re definitely going to make it.”
San Marcos has not captured a CIF-SS playoff victory since the 2005 season, but Veal and a new-look Royals program have the school hoping for a win this November.
San Marcos Football Schedule
- Aug. 21 – Dana Hills @ San Marcos
- Aug. 28 – San Marcos @ Del Sol
- Sept. 4 – San Marcos @ Channel Islands
- Sept. 11 – San Marcos @ Buena
- Sept. 18 – Santa Barbara @ San Marcos
- Oct. 2 – Fillmore @ San Marcos*
- Oct. 9 – San Marcos @ Santa Paula*
- Oct. 16 – Hueneme @ San Marcos*
- Oct. 23 – San Marcos @ Royal*
- Oct. 30 – San Marcos @ Dos Pueblos*
* – Tri-County League game
