Courtesy photo
From left to right, former Green Valley High School football coach Brian Castro, quarterback great Jon Denton, defensive back standout Jamar Glasper, former player and current assistant coach Jason Jackson, former player LaQuan Phillips, former player Tyrell Crosby, and head coach Clay Mauro pose for a photo during the program’s first hall of fame induction ceremony April 22, 2022.
Monday, April 25, 2022 | 2 a.m.
Jon Denton was the quarterback on the best football team in the history of Green Valley High School, leading the Gators to the state championship game in 1996.
Tyrell Crosby, who reached the NFL, is probably the program’s all-time best player.
And LaQuan Phillips, who was temporarily paralyzed after bruising his spine while making a tackle in 2008, is the unquestioned heart and soul of the program.
It seemed only fitting that the trio highlight the program’s first hall of fame class, which was celebrated Friday night in a ceremony at Rio Secco Golf Club. The initial class also included lineman Brandyn Dombrowski, who played one season for the school on the way to reaching the NFL, and Jamar Glasper, a dominating two-way player from the late 1990s.
But, make no doubt about it, this night belonged to Phillips.
“What makes us Green Valley? It has to be someone who has the heart of a Gator,” coach Clay Mauro told the audience. “When we thought about the name who truly represented what it meant to be a Gator, we looked no further than the one, the only LaQuan Phillips.”
Phillips, who still walks with a noticeable limp, gave a speech so powerful that many in the room had tears in their eyes.
“To be called the heart (of the program) is the biggest honor because I did leave it on that field for the program, for my brothers, for the love of the sport and for the team,” he said. “I was only 17, but if I could go back and do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. I am thankful for where I am.”
