o7The Glendale YMCA Quarterback Club, in its 63rd year, meets
Tuesdays at the Elk's Lodge in Glendale. The following are odds and
ends from the first meeting of the year.f7
Local flavor: A new rule in 2000 finally allowed the Glendale
Community College football team to recruit players outside of the
Glendale Unified School District, enabling the Vaqueros to look at
athletes from more than 50 schools in the Los Angeles area.
Several years after the rule was implemented, few locals found
their way to Glendale College.
But that trend seems to be changing, as the Vaqueros have had an
infusion of local talent the past two seasons.
"Our local kids are really stepping up for us," Glendale College
Coach John Cicuto said. "We're excited about them."
The Vaqueros have 16 players from the area, as well as nine from
Burbank.
Nine locals start or play significant minutes, including Rick
Martin (Glendale, 2004), Matt LaRussa and Ryan Bronk (both 2004 St.
Francis graduates), all of whom start at linebacker.
Glendale's Evgeni Mameev (Glendale, 2004) was last year's starting
kicker and returned to the lineup in the Vaqueros' 21-17
nonconference victory against Antelope Valley College on Saturday.
St. Francis' Paul Garcia and William Harrahill (both 2004 graduates)
start on the offensive line along with Glendale's George Aquino
(2004).
Glendale graduate Marco Ramirez anchors the defense. Ramirez
returned a fumble 61 yards in the Vaqueros' opener and had 12 tackles
and three sacks Saturday, when Burroughs graduate Matt Patterson, a
safety, also registered 12 tackles.
Putting things in perspective: First, the symptoms were normal.
His head hurt, he felt some chest pain and then his back starting
aching.
It had the makings for a classic case of stress.
That's what Ted Amorosi, the Glendale High football coach, thought
until the problems persisted throughout Saturday.
"And I have a wicked history of heart problems on both sides of
the family," Amorosi, 32, said. "[One of my family members] died when
he was 33. So, my life was flashing in front of me."
Amorosi went to get a check-up at an Urgent Care Center in
Glendale. Tests on his heart showed that he was just fine.
When Amorosi returned home, his 9-month-old son, Teddy, began to
feel warm. A check revealed that Teddy had a 105-degree temperature.
Amorosi's family rushed back to Urgent Care, where Teddy was treated.
"Football is a great thing, but God has a funny way of making sure
you keep things in perspective," Amorosi said.
