Mingus senior Trevor Hoke got the most out of his final season playing sports for the Marauders. He was a standout player for the Mingus football team in the fall as well as the baseball team during the abbreviated spring season.
Because of what he brought the Marauders on the gridiron as well as the diamond, the Cottonwood Journal Extra has selected Hoke as its Male Athlete for the Year for Mingus Union High School.
Hoke played on both offense and defense for the Marauders football team. On offense, he caught 15 passes for 119 yards as a receiver. As a linebacker on defense, Hoke recorded one sack and 90 tackles, the latter of which easily led the team, with 52 as the next highest total. Making that many tackles despite being undersized stood out to Hoke, even surprising him as he looked back on his senior year.
“I’m 5-foot-10 and 155 pounds — this is definitely not the size of a linebacker,” Hoke said. “Even though I was smaller than most I made the situations the best I could when the opportunity came.”
In football, Hoke’s favorite memory came before the season started when the Marauders went to the beach at their summer camp in California.
In baseball, one of Hoke’s final moves on the diamond will remain top on his highlight reel.
In the Mauraders’ last game of the season against Estrella Foothills, Hoke launched a ball over the left-field wall at Mingus. It was the only home run the Marauders hit during the season and the first and ultimately last of Hoke’s high school career.
Hoke excelled for Mingus during the abbreviated baseball season, hitting .381/.480/.666 with a home run, a triple and a double among his eight total hits in 21 at-bats. Hoke also added a stolen base. Hoke saw action as a pitcher twice during the season, striking out three hitters and posting a 3.94 ERA in 5.1 innings.
The end of Hoke’s time in high school sports will also likely mark the end of his time in competitive athletics as he doesn’t plan on playing at Grand Canyon University. He received scholarships to study software development there and will pursue another longtime passion of his.
“I have always liked technology and hope to help develop some different kinds of technology to help many all over the world,” he said.
Hoke also added that during his time in high school, academics were always a priority. The non-sports related memories that stand out the most to him are being able to see his friends at school on a daily basis.
To that end, Hoke expressed a great deal of gratitude towards the people who helped shape him over the last four years and throughout his life.
“I think some of the main people that affected my life would definitely be all my coaches, coaches [Bob] Young and [Erick] Quesada the most,” Hoke said. “My parents and friends also had a big influence on me to become the man I am today. All of these people in my life helped me to become prepared for almost any situation life could throw at me.”
“I just want people to remember me for what I was able to accomplish as a student at Mingus,” he added. “I want people to remember my hard work and dedication. I always put 100% into everything I did. I want others to look at that and hopefully feel that they should do it as well. I feel that no matter how hard the problem might be, or how impossible it might look, you can always just try your hardest and know that you did your best and have no regrets.”
