Grijalva signs letter of intent
EDITOR’S NOTE This is the second of five stories featuring a local student-athlete that signed a letter of intent during a signing ceremony at Brawley Union High on June 6.
BRAWLEY — A.J. Grijalva is set to start the school year the same way he has for the past four years — in pads and on a football field.
The setting could not be more different, however, as Grijalva will be practicing in Tacoma, Wash., rather than the triple-digit heat that welcomes local football players at the start of each season.
The recent graduate will be continuing his football career at the University of Puget Sound after signing his letter of intent during a ceremony at Brawley Union High here last week.
Grijalva was one of six athletes that signed to play a college sport and one of two football players, including teammate Johnny Marquez, who will attend Adrian College in Michigan.
Upon arriving in Tacoma, Grijalva will see one familiar face as he’ll be joining fellow Wildcat Isaiah Martinez, who recently completed his freshman season with the Loggers.
“At the end of my junior season I really started to think about playing (college football),” Grijalva explained.
The 18-year-old spent his junior and seniors seasons under-center and helped the Wildcats to an Imperial Valley League title his senior year.
In the air, Grijalva finished with a total of 587 yards and six touchdown passes and on the ground had 358 yards and six rushing touchdowns his final year.
While Grijalva was a primary component of the Wildcats’ offense, he’ll serve as a safety on the Logger roster.
Defense is not an unknown responsibility to Grijalva, who played both ways his senior year and finished with 30 total tackles, five interceptions and one fumble recovery.
“I’m excited to be able to put the pads back on again and just playing football and furthering my education,” Grijalva said.
Grijalva will join the NCAA Div. III program that competes in the Northwest Conference and faces Lewis and Clark, which has a pair of familiar Brawley graduates on its football roster in brothers Alex and Remington Campbell.
The Loggers struggled a bit last season and finished NWC action with a 1-6 record and went 3-6 overall. Grijalva said he was looking forward to the challenges of playing at the next level and thanked his parents and coaches for their guidance and support over the years.
“Both my parents dedicated a lot of time and even when I doubted myself, they told me to keep going and not give up,” he said.