In the fall of 2020, Jesuit High School star running back Kade Wisher stormed the field against Lake Oswego High School in a semi-final playoff matchup. Jesuit found themselves in the same position a year prior, but fell short. With redemption on his mind, Kade wasn’t going to let his high school football career end the same way it had before.
It was the end of the fourth with enough time on the clock for a game-winning drive. Jesuit had one chance, and who better to give it to than Wisher. The quarterback snapped the ball, handing it off to Wisher. The running back took it at full speed, bulldozing his way past the defensive line and into the open field. With not a single Lake Oswego Lakers jersey in front of him, the state championship was only 20 yards away. In the flash of an instant, the ball was stripped from Wisher’s hands. It was the moment Kade was stripped of his championship hopes and football career forever.
Wisher recalled the feelings he felt during that night, “it left a bitter taste in my mouth”. This was a pivotal night for someone who has shown to be a purebred competitor. Luckily, the results of his career are not everything that Wisher has taken from playing football.
“Football has given me the mentality of putting your head where your feet are and living in the present,” said Wisher. “ Life is hard but nothing is going to change that, realizing that makes it a bit easier.”
For an athlete like Wisher, attitude and mindset becomes everything. His experiences on the field have shaped him as a man. His priorities in college are a direct reflection of that. “Improving every day, finding that one percent, and being a better person than who I was yesterday… football has ingrained that in me”. Because of this, Wisher’s time at Jesuit was not the end of his career.
During his time in college at the University of Oregon, Wisher wanted to keep the dream alive. After a full year off of sports, he tried out for the UO football team as a walk-on. As you could have guessed, the kid gave it his all and left it all out on the field. This was Wisher’s chance to be a part of one of the biggest college football organizations in the country.
“I had my doubts about making the team for sure, but I stayed ready during covid and I wanted closure on how things ended (at Jesuit),” he said. When Wisher made the team the first thing he did was call his mother. It was a moment he will be proud of forever.
This meant the world to people like Wisher and his family, “all of my aspirations as a kid came true, it all paid off”. Only two percent of high school athletes have the opportunity to play NCAA division one sports. He would never have had a spot on the team if it was not for his determination and resilience. Skill is one thing but the character is another, and it is Wisher’s character that got him into the position he is in now.
“I can’t imagine a Kade that never played football, it is a part of me”, Wisher plans to continue his time at Oregon playing football and hopes to coach a team of his own further down the line.