AIR FORCE ACADEMY — Falcons senior Myles Morales has found value from playing football, win or lose.
The important thing he’s gained has been the camaraderie of teammates and the support from staff members. No, he’s not complaining that Air Force is 6-4 in his senior season with two regular-season games to play. He is, however, facing an emotional moment today when Air Force plays Nevada-Las Vegas in its final home game.
Last week, Morales thought about the heartaches he faced even before he made it to the academy and the pitfalls encountered after he arrived.
“I never felt that I was left out, even when I wasn’t able to be out on the field with the rest of the players,” said Morales, who missed his sophomore season to concentrate on academics and played only briefly last year as a backup linebacker.
“Our last home game means a lot to all of us because of the long journey all the seniors have gone through to be here.”
Morales (6-feet-3, 250 pounds) had one of his best games last week with six tackles against Army, and he can look forward to a bowl game. He now ranks ninth on the team with 31 tackles.
“Myles is a feel-good story,” defensive line coach Ron Burton said. “He’s fought through a lot of things, and he’s getting in position to graduate. Getting on the field this year was a blessing for him. His strength on the playing field is his ability to move.”
Morales learned the meaning of tenacity and dealing with hardship before landing at Air Force.
When he was 6, his mother, Sandra, died in an auto accident. When he was a junior in high school in San Antonio, he lost a good friend and teammate, who died from injuries suffered in a football game.
“We dedicated some games to him,” Morales said. “We all found ourselves pulling together on the team. My family supported me when my mother died. They looked after me, and I always knew I had someone there. But they haven’t been able to make it to many of my games.”
Morales will miss what he has gained from football.
“It would have been easy to quit,” he said. “It’s always easy to quit, but I overcame a lot to keep my head up. It will be a huge thing when I don’t have football to help me keep motivated. I have to move on after that.”
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
