CAMBRIDGE – It might not feel like it as the county sweats through the summer’s worst heat wave, but fall and its traditions are fast approaching. Cool evenings, falling leaves – and football at Vikings Stadium will be here soon.

Cambridge-South Dorchester High School Vikings Football Head Coach Jake Coleman and his staff aim to have their players ready for the 2014 season, scheduled to begin Saturday against Snow Hill High School. The game will take place at Salisbury University, beginning at 7 p.m.

“We have big goals,” Coach Coleman said Friday, as his team warmed up for a scrimmage against Seaford Schools. “We want to make it to M&T Stadium [in Baltimore for the state championships.]”

With a strong core of experienced veterans and a group of talented rookies, the coach believes his team will be in the thick of post-season competition.

“We want to win Baysides like we did the last six years,” Coach Coleman said. The Vikings also took the Region 1A East title last year, on their way to their season-ending game in the state semi-finals.

The team heads into its 2014 campaign counting on a productive offense. That’s a fair assumption, since the Vikings had their highest-scoring season in school history in 2013.

On defense, the squad was strong enough to send in back-ups for considerable stretches during many games. “We played 27 guys on defense every game,” Coach Coleman said.

The situation was similar on offense, with the Vikings putting 16 or 17 boys on the field every game.

So even considering the graduation of last year’s seniors, the Vikings have plenty of players with game-day experience. They are joined by up-and-coming talent from last year’s 9-0 junior varsity team.

Coach Coleman looked over rows of players stretching in the grass, shouting their counts as they stretched. With a smile anticipating fall nights under the lights, he said, “We could be in the running.”