“It means they respect my game,” said Valentine, a Burbank High graduate who is considering North Carolina State, Fresno State, Kansas State and West Virginia. “They see the talent that I have, and I had high goals for myself coming into the season.
“We missed the playoffs by a couple of games, but I’m happy with the honor. I’m also happy for Ray and Zack getting honors.”
Shortly after the season concluded, Valentine was honored with the program’s Jim Sartoris Most Valuable Player award. The award is given out by the Glendale YMCA Quarterback Club.
Williams, a sophomore center, and McDonough, a sophomore defensive back, each received honorable mention after helping the Vaqueros finish 15th in Southern California rankings.
Williams, who plans to attend San Diego State next year, earned all-conference first-team honors for the second consecutive year after opening gaping holes for Glendale college’s running backs. McDonough, a St. Francis High graduate, led the conference with eight interceptions en route to securing all-conference first-team honors.
“It’s really special to me because the dedication paid off,” Williams said. “A lot of coaches helped me along the way, and I wanted to come into the season and get all-American and all-conference.
“I wanted to go out of my way to knock somebody over into the end zone for us to get a touchdown.”
McDonough was given the Scholar Athlete award after posting a 3.4 grade-point average. The former Golden Knight, who was awarded a $500 scholarship by the Glendale YMCA Quarterback Club, had eight interceptions at safety in the Vaqueros’ last five contests.
McDonough, a former All-Mission League pick, said things fell into place this season.
“Before the season began, I never told myself that I would be an All-American,” said McDonough, who is considering attending Montana State and Hofstra. “When I found out that I had made it, I was speechless.
“A lot of getting All-American came from maturity. I needed some time. I got a year older, taller and faster.”
Former Glendale college Coach John Cicuto said the honors put an exclamation point on the seasons the players enjoyed.
“It’s a great honor for those guys because they were our top players,” Cicuto said. “To have three All-Americans from our team is great.
“They were worthy to make it because they always made the big plays for us.”
?CHARLES RICH covers sports. He can be reached at (818) 637-3228 or charles.rich@latimes.com.
