Two former Tryon High School football players are now part of a junior college Hall of Fame.
Nathan and Ronny Shields, as part of the Arizona Western College NJCAA 1972 Football Championship Team, attended the induction ceremony for the team into the NJCAA Hall of Fame and the inaugural induction into the Arizona Western College Athletic Hall of Fame.
Coach Ray Butcher and the entire 1972 Arizona Western College Matador championship football team are inductees in the 2011 NJCAA Hall of Fame.
The ceremony was held Nov. 30 in the Schoening Conference Center 3C, on the campus of Arizona Western College located in Yuma, Ariz.
The event was sponsored by Time Warner Cable, which also sponsored the NJCAA El Toro National Championship game held in the Veterans Memorial Stadium in Yuma Saturday, Dec. 3. There,  No. 2 East Mississippi Community College Lions defeated the No. 1 AWC Matadors 2011 undefeated football team with a score of 55 to 47. The 1972 NJCAA Champions and the 2011 Hall of Fame inductees’ who attended the ceremony also attended the game where they were honored prior to the championship game.
– article submitted by Nathan G. Shields