Los Angeles Valley College - Crown Yearbook (Valley Glen, CA)

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twin stars l l l l l i i Boarding a bus for the trip to Santa Monica, twin stars Herb Griffin cmd Junior Morales display the confident smiles which kept their team moving throughout the season's activities. W A,-4,,,,kA,,,,,.?7 i i l i i i i Q, 1: fe-gt. 'gi

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Even in the most '1-ifnble defeat there can be glory. Maybe it's not alwa , the grand type, with the crowd screaming wildly on its feet for its triumphant team and grandest gladiators, but there can be a more sophisticated type, one of deep, personal feeling, knowing that one has tried. This is the feeling which has been that of Valley College's twin stars, Ismael Uuniorj Morales and Herb Griffin. They have proved well that willingness plus ability are almost always rewarded, though quite often the form may come in varied shapes. It's a hard thing, relates Junior, Valley's ace end, to try to make a team into something it isn't. At first I felt sorry for the rooters in the stands, but that soon stopped when I realized that they knew what they 'were seeing and loved every minute of it. They gave us credit for the one thing we didn't lack-DRIVEV' Drive is nothing new to Ismael Morales. With over five years of high school and college experience behind him, Junior knows well what it is to win as well as lose. As a member of Howard Taft's successful '59 and '60 Valley All-Stars, Junior received training which he definite- ly feels helped enable him to shine as radiantly as he did this season. The other glowing star from Valley College's 1961 grid- VaIIey's iron squad is Herb Griffin. The powerfully built linebacker has been money in the bank all season for Valley linemen. Against Bakersfield, especially, a team picked by most of the experts as one of the finest junior college teams in the history of the Metropolitan League, Griffin repeatedly was the key man in most of the game's important plays. Many feel Valley might not have ever had possession of the ball if it wasn't for the playing that night of Herb Griffin. The versatile Griffin is an outstanding performer in any spot he's chosen to play. Coach Al Hunt discovered this before the season was a month old and since has put the powerfully built star in almost every position at one time or another. You never lose anything by giving the best you have, says Griffin. t'In defeat or victory alike you'll always gain something by giving everything. This type of spirit shown by Valley College's twin stars has often helped a team, which otherwise might have lost its desire to keep fighting when the going was getting rougher game after game, to meet reality and realize that the winning team isn't always the victorious one. Facing the football field as life itself has given added stature to the names of Morales and Griffin. On and off the field, these are more than merely football players. These are true competitors. Q Qs. Practically the whole Valley team had to lend a hand to stop Harbor's Sam Wicks.

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1 ,, fij f m , . . E Xt l Twin stars fcontinuedj Morales and Griffin Valley aces During halftime, Valley's veteran coach Al Hunt explains plans for the second portion of game to Morales. On the sideline, Griffin and Markham show concern as teammates are confronted by Santa Monica Corsairs. ls V YN ' P