On Thursday, October 7th, Officer Rich Randolph and members of the Colton Police Department’s command staff presented its weekly Cops N’ Jocks award to a group of Yellowjacket football players: Xavier Sandoval, Gabriel Aparicio, Steven Medina, and Nick Rios.

The “Cops and Jocks Player of the week award” recognizes outstanding football players for their hard work and valuable play on the field.

Juniors Xavier Sandoval and Gabriel Aparicio were recognized for their excellent play in weeks one and two of the current season.

Seniors Steven Medina, Michael Razo, and Nick Rios were awarded for weeks three, five, and six.

All the recipients received a plaque, a toy police car, and a gift certificate to Leno’s Rico Tacos in Colton.

Coach Ray Rodriguez presented the awards at a small ceremony in room 256 on the Colton High campus.

Quarterback Gabriel Aparicio was excited to receive the honor. “I think it’s a cool gift, especially to be getting it from the police department, it’s an honor. It’s cool how the cops are being more involved with Colton football players . . . Come to tonight’s game, show out, put support and wear your white.”

Medina, a star senior wide receiver, was thankful for more political reasons. “It’s good that the officers are getting more involved with us kids, because there’s a lot of animosity towards cops.”

However, the serious thoughts did not last long. Steven and Gabriel soon shared how they planned to spend their Leno’s gift card on carne asada fries.

It became obvious as the players talked about the award, that while they appreciated the spotlight, they were thinking about their teammates and the upcoming game against Kaiser High School, which they are eager to win.

“It was nice to win the award, but to me, it’s the game that matters,” Michael Razo said.