Hopkins’ Goals Are Linked to La Quinta’s Success

Donald Hopkins has passed for nearly 2,000 yards this season. He has led La Quinta High School’s football team to a 10-0 record. He’s accurate, he’s able, he’s poised, he’s versatile. He has mastered an offense so complex, the meaning of life seems a simple multiple-choice question by comparison.

But ask Hopkins what his strengths are, and immediately Donald ducks.

“My strengths? Eee-yooo,” he says as if the question were a liver-and-onion lunch special.

He ponders, he squirms, he chews his lip. He looks up, he looks down. He rests his chin in his hands, closes his eyes and slowly drums his fingers against his eyelids. Tha-dump, tha-dump, tha-dump . . .

Finally, Hopkins has an answer. Sort of.

“Good plays,” he says. “I have good plays. Coach (Roger) Takahashi gives me good plays, and they’re hard to stop.”

This is no dim Donald. He is just genuinely confounded when it comes time to credit himself for a part of La Quinta’s success.

“Actually,” Hopkins says, “it’s kind of embarrassing to admit, but my goal this year was to be all-league and pass for 2,000 yards. But I said that jokingly. I never thought this would happen.”

Last Friday, Hopkins, the county’s ninth-rated quarterback, threw for 179 yards and three touchdowns in La Quinta’s 30-0 victory over Los Amigos. When Hopkins was replaced late in the third quarter, he was eight yards short of 2,000 in the regular season.

Hopkins, who usually considers personal stats a waste of time, was suddenly begging--to himself, at least--to go back in. Takahashi, not one to run up the score, didn’t know how near Hopkins was to 2,000 and ran the good sportsmanship route instead, keeping Hopkins on the sideline.

Now that Hopkins has seen how close he came, he has more confidence in other goals. Leading his team to the Division VI championship, for instance, is of utmost importance. La Quinta, which plays Buena Park in Friday’s first round, lost to Corona del Mar in the title game last year.

But Hopkins has another goal, one that drives him to do such things as wear women’s clothes. He wants to be Mr. Spirit.

Actually, Hopkins is a three-time winner of the Mr. Spirit award, presented each year to the La Quinta student who best personifies peppiness. A rather outgoing fellow, Hopkins has shot Billy the Kid in a school play, lip-synced “Simply Irresistible” a la Robert Palmer for a freshman orientation video, dressed as a woman for several skits and recently participated in a remake of “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” for a homecoming assembly.

The youngest of eight children, Hopkins--who suffered such intense headaches as a child that he’d dive into the ice-cold family pool for relief--once had his left shoulder dislocated by his sister, Marilyn, during a fit of horseplay. Last winter, after tiring of continual dislocations, Hopkins, who is right-handed, had surgery to correct that problem.

Two weeks ago, though, his right shoulder was hurting when he entered the game against Santiago. By halftime, Hopkins had thrown six interceptions--matching his season total to that point.

La Quinta rallied in the second half to win, 16-13.

“Maybe I was worried about my shoulder, but I’m not going to blame it on that,” he said. “They just had me confused, to be honest.”

And for a 17-year-old who isn’t exactly the king of confidence, six interceptions threw poise into a dive.

“The first interception, I’m thinking, ‘All right, it’s early. No problem,’ ” Hopkins said. “The second, I’m like, ‘OK, that wasn’t my fault.’ The third, ‘It was my fault, Oh my lordy!’ The fourth and fifth? ‘Unbelievable!’ The sixth was on a Hail Mary pass. Just before the ball left my hand, I’m thinking, ‘Great, this will be No. 6!’ and it helicoptered out of my hand right to the defensive back . . . I wanted to cry.”

At halftime, he tried to follow his brother’s advice--always tell yourself you’re good, no matter what.

“I was sitting there going, ‘OK, I’m good. I’m good. I’m good,’ ” Hopkins said. “I guess it’s something you got to say, even when you don’t believe it.”

Or, as Hopkins might learn, even when you do.

Barbie Ludovise’s column appears Wednesday and Sunday.