By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

CHINA GROVE — Carson’s football season ended in late October, but senior Trevor Vaughn still has one high school game left.

Vaughn plans to play in the Tiki Bowl in Honolulu the first week of January. It’s a Class of 2024 all-star game, with players invited from all over the country. There are about 35 players per team. Teams will be guided by small-college coaches.

It’s an all-star game that includes considerable expense because it’s costly getting to Hawaii and players will stay for six days and five nights.

Still, Vaughn didn’t have any trouble saying yes to a unique senior trip and the chance to see some of the country’s biggest tourist attractions.

“I was notified about being invited to the game by a direct message on social media,” Vaughn said. “It came out of the blue and surprised me. I’d never heard of the Tiki Bowl, but we checked everything out, and it’s all legit. We followed up on the invitation, communicated with the people who put on the bowl, and signed up. They get good players and they have good coaches. It should be the experience of a lifetime.”

Worst case, Vaughn can get sand in his shoes and do some surfing on the beach at Waikiki, and he’ll have forever memories such as a game ball, a game jersey and photos.

Best case, he’ll shine in front of coaches who will want to offer him a scholarship.

Vaughn is a very good player. He actually played some on the Carson varsity as a freshman, and he’s been a three-year starter. At 5-foot-10, 175 pounds, he doesn’t have ideal size for college football, but he’s got muscles and speed. He’s at the top of the charts far as character, work ethic, the classroom (3.7 GPA) and the weight room.

“I’ve got a son and I want him to grow up to be like Trevor Vaughn,” Carson head coach Jonathan Lowe said. “His parents (Jeff and Kim) have done an excellent job with him. He’s selfless, he’s hard-working, he was always passionate about Carson football. His attitude toward our program has been unmatched. The day I met him I knew he was a special player, and he’s been willing to play wherever we needed him to play.”

Vaughn has offers — smaller schools such as Brevard, Averett and St. Andrews so far — so there’s no doubt he’s going to get a chance to play college football. His ceiling would be Division II, and there’s interest at that level from some South Atlantic Conference schools.

His college position will most likely be slot receiver, even though he’s played mostly on the defensive side of the ball for Carson. Carson is primarily a running team, so Carson coaches figured Vaughn would be more valuable to the Cougars focusing on defense in a strong safety role.

He did have 14 catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns as a senior, making the most of limited chances as a pass-catcher.

Vaughn is an interesting story, as his father was a very good basketball player for Catawba in the early 1990s.

Trevor’s older sisters, Laura and Jaden, made their mark at Carson in volleyball.

People who were expecting Trevor to inherit his dad’s hoops gene were surprised when he showed a lot more interest in football. That turned out to be a prudent career choice because he didn’t get his dad’s height.

“Like a lot of kids, I played everything when I was young, including basketball,” Vaughn said. “But by middle school, I knew football was my strongest sport. Football was my thing.”

So he’s made his own way in his own sport. There’s been less pressure than there would have been in basketball. If he were a basketball player, people would expect Jeff Vaughn’s son to walk into a gym and start lighting it up. In football, he’s been able to operate under the radar.

Daniel Crosby was still the head coach at Carson when Vaughn was a sophomore. Vaughn still needed experience, but he already was making plays for the Cougars as a safety and receiver, and he helped the Cougars get back to the playoffs. In the Central Cabarrus game, he had a 40-yard catch and a game-sealing interception.

In the South Rowan game, Vaughn lined up in the backfield, ran the first wheel route of his life and caught a pass from Hunter Burris for his first varsity touchdown.

Vaughn’s junior year was Lowe’s first season as head coach. Vaughn had a touchdown catch, but mostly he focused on defense.

In between his junior and senior seasons, Vaughn worked with trainer Jardale Blakeney, who also was working with talented athletes such as Salisbury’s breakout superstars Jamal Rule and Jaden Warren.

“He’s a great motivator,” Vaughn said. “His pushing made a difference for me. I made some gains, as far as getting faster and stronger.”

Vaughn was ready for a big senior season. The death of his friend Dalton Gay right shortly the season staggered all the Cougar coaches and players, and Vaughn was among those hit the hardest.

“I grew up with Dalton, so it was hard to think about anything other than losing Dalton for a while, but we were able to play some good games,” Vaughn said. “The best we played on defense was probably against Robinson. To hold that team to 26 points took a great scheme from the coaches and a great effort by everyone.”

Now his senior year of football is in the books — except for the Tiki Bowl.

For some of his Tiki Bowl teammates and opponents this will be the final high school game.

As for Vaughn, he hopes this all-star game far from home is just a stepping stone to many more football memories. It will be a transition game for him from high school to college football.

Vaughn also plans to help the Cougars, who were the 2023 county champions, in track and field. He missed last track season with an ankle injury, but he plans to compete this spring. The high jump and long jump are his best events.