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Desert View’s Jamero, Ramirez sign letters of intent


Each has a story of tribulation during their Desert View careers, but linebacker Anton Jamero and running back Jacob Ramirez never stopped working toward what occurred Thursday at the school.

Jamero signed a national letter of intent with Ripon (Wis.) College, an NCAA Division III school, and Ramirez did the same with Lyon College, an NAIA institution in Batesville, Ark.

Family members, teammates, friends and Desert View coach Robert Bonillas, who played for Dick Tomey at Arizona, were in attendance at the school’s gymnasium.

“Keeping a good mindset through the adversity and keep looking forward to everything,” Jamero said when asked about his thoughts about going on to the next level when things looked bleak last fall.

Anton Jamero (left) and Jacob Ramirez fulfilled their goals by signing with a college today to continue their football careers (Curtis Dutiel/Desert View photo)

Jamero tore his ACL in his right knee during Desert View’s second game at Walden Grove on Nov. 23. That turned out to be the Jaguars’ last game of the season because of COVID-19 protocols.

Instead of dropping its recruitment of Jamero, Ripon’s coaching staff stuck with him, the deciding factor in him leaving home to study engineering there.

Ramirez, who gained 1,144 yards rushing as sophomore in 2018, has an especially difficult background at Desert View. He tore his ACL and that wiped out his entire junior season. Ramirez only had two games in the fall to impress college recruiters before COVID-19 shut down the season.

Lyon College’s staff believed in the Ramirez of 2018. They realized his ability and looked past the situation of him playing only two games in the last two years.

“It shows me I can overcome anything,” Ramirez said. “Adversity was thrown in my way but it taught me how to work hard. I have a sense of grind. I work harder. I have a better work ethic now because I know it can be taken away from me at any minute, any second.”

Anton Jamero and his family (Curtis Dutiel/Desert View photo)

Bonillas said it was a “blessing” coaching Ramirez and Jamero and his other seniors because he benefited as much from coaching them as they learned under him.

“Being part of helping them, coaching them up and having them for four years, that was a blessing, and it’s a blessing for the families to see their kids get a second chance of getting an education,” Bonillas said.

He looked over at Ramirez and Jamero signing their letters of intent and mentioned, “these two kids are the kids that you want.”

“I do want to thank all of our community, our teachers, especially, starting from the elementary schools, because this is a product of our community,” he said. “I wish them the best of luck. It was great having them, coaching them.

“It does mean a lot to us and the program also so that kids can see they can realize their dreams soon.”

Desert View running back Jacob Ramirez and his family (Curtis Dutiel/Desert View photo)

Ramirez and Jamero are two of 37 local Class of 2021 prospects who have committed or signed a national letter of intent. Here is a list of them:


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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.

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