Case Hatch was recently named defensive player of the year by the Arizona Cardinals after a productive season. Averaging 12 tackles per game, Hatch helped successfully carry the defense throughout the season. ng and determination to be named the best defensive player in the state. Hatch said, “you have to train intensely in the off-season and never miss a day.” Earning such an award is not easy by any means. It takes a large amount of training

Longtime friend and teammate, senior tight end Jackson O’Hare said, “as a player, [Case] is crazy. super good and super energetic.” Hatch has been working extremely hard to be the best at what he does, and it has paid off for him in the form of this honor.

“It was pretty cool to see the awards I got and how far I could take it. It’s great to get the highest award I could get,” Hatch said.

With all the awards and recognition Hatch gets, a large ego could be an issue; Coach Minor even jokingly said, “don’t blow [Case’s] head up too much.” But Hatch doesn’t allow it to get to his head. He looks out for not only himself, but others as well. O’Hare said, “he’s a really selfless player and always thinks about the team not himself. he does everything he can to make the team better.”

This pertains to him as a player and a person. O’Hare said, “he’s the same off the field as he is on the field. He cares about other people and not himself. He is a really [caring] person and he focuses a lot on making other people better.” For example, Hatch participates in Shop With a Jock, an event put on by Arizona student athletes to give underprivileged children the chance to spend the day shopping with an athlete.

Along with Hatch, many other football players earned 1st and 2nd team all-region honors. With the end of the football season, the Pumas, who reached the playoffs for the second consecutive year (seventh in the last eight), had 7 players earn all CUSD accolades. Seniors Sam O’Hare and Case Hatch, and junior Adam Higuera earned first team recognition. Seniors Kevin Perez and Jackson O’Hare, junior Nate James, and sophomore Cutter Hatch received second team honors. Seniors Gabe Tomaszewski, Dallas Kreil, Andrew Knutson, Justin Nelson, Jacob Cross, Colton Evertson, and Derek Wahlin, juniors Pete Mora, Seau Nguyen, Clayton Nocella and Cristian Zendejas along with freshman David Eppinger received all region honorable mention.