The date was Oct. 16, 2021 and for all of six plays, Lousararian wearing No. 19 for the Vaqs was living the dream on the field, not on Zoom with his teammates as he was limited to in 2020, and not watching from the sidelines as he did in 2019 as a redshirt freshman. He is one of six sophomores on the 2021 squad that have had a rebirth of sorts this year, suiting up and playing in games in a season that has been tenuous at times but definitely worth the wait as he and his teammates prepare for the rest of the regular season.

 

"Not playing football for whatever reason has not been easy the past three years but I've tried to stay positive, keep my head in the game and take care of business in the classroom and get ready to transfer,'' said Lousararian, who is a business major with a 3.5 GPA and was named the team scholar-athlete by the Glendale YMCA QB Club . "I can't speak for the other sophomores but getting to this point and the sacrifices made to get to this point have been worth it. Glendale College has provided us all with a great opportunity on and off the field and we all have to be ready when our name is called.''

 

Lousararian's name was called midway through the fourth quarter with Glendale leading 46-13 and his stat line included six plays, two completed passes in three attempts for 34 yards including a 33-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Pena that gave the Vaqueros their final points of the game.

 

                                                                2021 GCC Sophomores

 

While Lousararian's chances to play were few and far between, that was not the case for sophomore offensive lineman Mario Botello, who was a starter as a freshman at GCC in 2019 but had to make the difficult decision to play or not play in 2021 after sitting out all of the 2020 season because of the pandemic.

 

"I wanted to play and have a chance to be recruited but it was tough to decide after the team struggled so much during my freshman year and losing last year completely. But Coach Farwell getting the head coaching job really helped changed my mind,'' said Botello who was named the team MVP by the Glendale YMCA QB Club. "Coach Farwell recruited me when he was at Citrus and I liked what he had to say as a former offensive lineman. It was the best of both worlds with him coming to Glendale because I really like the school and playing for him and my teammates was a great experience.'' 

 

Considering GCC was one of the most explosive teams offensively in the Metro League this past season, the offensive line performed well and Botello was a big part of that as evidenced by his second team all-league recognition. At 6' 3" and 315 pounds, he possesses the size and strength along with good footwork to play at the next level.

 

"I'm thankful for our sophomores who have been committed to this program and have helped lay the foundation of the new culture of Vaquero Football,'' said Interim Head Football Coach Tanner Farwell. "I'm excited for their future as well as developing our freshman this off season.''