Glendale Community College football bestowed with conference honors

It turned out to be an uneven season for the Glendale Community College football team.

After losing their first six games, the Vaqueros finished strong by winning three of their final four. It led to Glendale finishing 3-7, 3-3 in the American Metro Conference for fourth place behind East L.A., Santa Ana and West L.A.

Still, Glendale had plenty of players who showed promise throughout the season that were bestowed with all-conference honors, as voted on by the conference’s six coaches. Glendale had six players named to the first and second teams, respectively.

Glendale’s Payton Lowry-Sanders, Cody Shoemaker, Sam Brown and Keyon Hardin picked up first-team defensive selections.

Lowry-Sanders, a sophomore defensive end, returned to the Vaqueros after missing virtually all of the 2015 campaign because of a knee injury. He played in 10 games, finishing with 22 tackles, 4 1/2 sacks and one fumble recovery in 2016.

“You know going in that he’s such a hard worker and that he’d come back strong,” Glendale Coach John Rome said. “He came back and always provided the team with a boost and a lot of energy.”

Shoemaker, a sophomore linebacker, came to Glendale after transferring from College of the Canyons. Shoemaker, whose father Don Shoemaker is a former Glendale High football coach, collected 37 tackles and two sacks in 10 games.

“His name came up while selecting the all-conference team and everybody agreed he was a top player,” Rome said. “He could read the plays well and had the basics down pat. I was very pleased with the way he played.”

Brown registered 24 tackles and one interception in eight games.

“He came to us as a corner back and then we moved him to safety,” Rome said. “We found out he could be a more dynamic player by making a big difference at the line of scrimmage. He played exceptionally well the two years we had him.”

Hardin, a sophomore corner back, proved to be a linchpin for the Vaqueros. In eight games, Hardin had 19 tackles and three interceptions. Two interceptions came against Santa Ana on Oct. 15.

“He did such a fantastic job after not playing all that much last year,” Rome said. “He made a lot of big plays throughout the season and you could see the improvement he made from week to week.”

Ioane Nuipulusu, a freshman fullback, and sophomore lineman Chris Salgado were selected to the all-conference first-team offense.

Nuipulusu rushed for 167 yards in 26 carries and one touchdown in nine games.

“Ioane gave our team a lot of versatility and we’ll look to use him a lot next season,” Rome said. “We loved his aggression when it came to blocking.”

Salgado led the charge with superb blocking in 10 games. He played in all 20 of the Vaqueros games the last two seasons.

“Chris kept working hard to get better and he often gave the team great pass protection,” Rome said. “We could always count on him.”

Michael Fulton, Michael Selsor and Anthony McGinnis picked up second-team defense accolades.

Fulton, a sophomore tackle, contributed 13 tackles and two sacks in six games. Selsor, a freshman, had 56 punts for 1,976 yards and a 35.3 average in 10 contests. McGinnis, a sophomore kick returner, had six kickoff returns for 194 yards and one touchdown.

Receiving second-team offense recognition were Andrew Mills, Randall Mincy and TJ Brumfield.

Mills, a sophomore lineman, provided a boost for the Vaqueros with exceptional blocking in nine games. Mincy, a freshman tight end, caught 13 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns in 10 games. Brumfield, a freshman running back, had 120 carries for 551 yards and six touchdowns.