Valley Gets Gift in Arrival of Walker

Few surprises greeted junior college football coaches in the region Tuesday on the first day of full-contact practice.

At Valley, a pleasant surprise was among the shoulder-padded newcomers: Vinny Walker.

Walker, who rushed for 1,600 yards and 22 touchdowns last season at Monroe High, failed to achieve a qualifying score on his SAT and was unable to accept a scholarship to Colorado State. Walker will play this season at Valley, the region’s most successful program in recent years.

Walker, 6 feet and 190 pounds, averaged close to 300 yards a game last season. He said all along he had Valley and Coach Gary Barlow in his backup plans.

“He talked to me a lot and he was always saying, ‘If you need a place to go, just give me a call,’ ” Walker said of Barlow. “He showed a lot of interest in me.”

For junior college football coaches, the first week of the fall semester is among the season’s defining moments.

Not until players are enrolled and begin attending classes--and fall-semester workouts--is a coach assured that a player has not made an 11th-hour decision to enroll at another junior college.

“You always worry about that and it does happen,” Barlow said. “But we didn’t have anyone jump ship. The kids who were working out with us all through spring and all through summer are pretty much the same kids we have out here.”

Other area coaches echoed Barlow’s sense of relief.

“The guys we thought would be here are here,” Pierce Coach Bill Norton said.

Norton, trying to reverse a 28-game losing streak that dates to 1995, gained a quarterback in Calvin Zinck, a transfer from Moorpark College and former standout at Kennedy High.

Norton also welcomed wide receiver Damon Coleman, a transfer from Eastern Arizona who attended Taft and Van Nuys highs.

Pierce, which plays Valley on Sept. 19, has been trounced by its cross-town rival in recent years in local recruiting.

At least 30 players from Valley have transferred to Division I schools over the last two years.

This season, Valley has approximately 30 sophomores and 50 freshmen, a typical sum, Barlow said.

“With the amount of kids we’re sending to the four-year level, it helps,” Barlow said.

Norton said he is more optimistic this season than most.

“Several guys who had brothers [who played] at Valley decided to come here,” he said.

Running back Darrell Durham of Glendale, who led the Western State Conference is rushing last season with 1,500 yards, might ultimately mean more to the Vaqueros than just a ballcarrier.

Glendale Coach John Cicuto, whose team was 2-8 last season and has been mired in mediocrity in recent years, said at least five of Durham’s friends from Gardena High, his alma mater, have followed him to Glendale.

“Our numbers are up and we’re excited,” said Cicuto, entering his 10th season. “When you look at our roster, you see kids from all over the place. Of course, [Durham] is going to be a major part of our offense. He’s going to open up our passing game, too.

Passing, of course, is the hallmark of Valley’s run-and-shoot teams of the past several years. That won’t change, said Barlow, who was promoted last season from offensive coordinator.

Anticipation accompanies the selection of the starting quarterback at Valley. This season, the Monarchs have four candidates.

Left-hander Todd McLean from Crespi High is the only sophomore. He’s challenged by Eric Holtfreter from Quartz Hill, Travis Winn from Chatsworth and Mike Adams, a redshirt freshman from Boston University.

“We’ll have a good battle on our hands there,” Barlow said.

Handoffs for Walker might be in short supply. Moreover, he must compete with former Crespi player Jamian Barbour, who transferred last season from Colorado, and Jason Portee, a freshman from Beverly Hills.

“Everything always turns out for the best, and I think it will for me here,” Walker said. “Here, I’ll probably get a chance to play a lot, whereas I’d probably redshirt at a university.”