In a football season filled with highlight-reel touchdown plays, it was a move Tre Richardson made just to get on the field that spoke volumes as the defining moment of his season, and perhaps his career at Highland Park.

Having battled a left shoulder injury since Week 2 of the 2021 football season, Richardson had made the tough decision to end his junior campaign early and have surgery in order to salvage some of his upcoming basketball season. With surgery scheduled for Oct. 18, Richardson was on the sidelines in street clothes when the Scots took on Washburn Rural on Oct. 15.

And it was killing him. So he called his mom, Kawanda, during the first half, asking her to bring his equipment. He wanted to play.

"It was my last game I could play before my surgery," Richardson said. "My teammates needed me. My surgery was on Monday but I need to play like I need to breathe."

With Highland Park mired in the state's longest losing streak and down big in the game, many might have questioned Richardson's decision, risking himself in a seemingly no-win situation. But those around Richardson simply know his character.

"That's just Tre Richardson," Highland Park basketball coach Michael Williams said. "It's just the young man he is. He just always shows up and wants to do what's necessary for Highland Park to be seen in a bright light and give our athletic programs the best opportunity they have to be successful."

Richardson -- this week's Capitol Federal True Blue® Student of the Week -- has carried that dedication over to this winter. After having surgery on his left shoulder to repair a torn labrum and bruised rotator cuff, the diagnosis for Richardson's return was early January at best.

However, when the Scots open the season Friday night at home against Emporia, Richardson will be in the starting lineup ready to help Highland Park build on last year's 12-8 record and 11-5 mark in Centennial League play.

"I called it," said Richardson, who shed his arm sling on Wednesday but will wear a brace on his shoulder throughout the season. "I told my mom the day after surgery I would be back for the first game. ... My first day of physical therapy, they said, 'Wow, it doesn't even look like you're injured.' I said 'I'm going to be back Dec. 3, just watch.' I'm not supposed to be this far ahead. I'm doing the stretches now that I'm not supposed to be doing until January or February. People said I couldn't do it, and I said, 'Just watch.'"

Richardson put everything he had into his rehab, much as he has with any endeavor he's taken on. It's not uncommon during the summer for him to have three-a-day workouts, going from football to basketball to baseball. Even during each of those seasons, he makes sure he's putting in the work for his other sports as well.

It's a mentality that Williams said can be infectious, someone that just exudes good vibes to those around him.

"That hits it right on the head," Williams said. "It's everything that he stands for. Obviously his athletic ability just stands out and jumps out at you because it's borderline freakish. But the thing that puts him in another category is the young man that he is."

Indeed, Richardson is more than just a four-sport standout for the Scots. He carries a 4.181 GPA and is enrolled in honor classes across the board at Highland Park. His efforts in the classroom have not gone unnoticed either -- in early November, he was inducted into Highland Park's chapter of the National Honor Society.

"That was really big for me," Richardson said. "Academics are very important to me. My mom has always said academics are bigger than sports. Academics come first, then sports. You can't play if you don't have the grades. She didn't want me to go down the same road as all my other siblings. They were all good at sports but none did what it took to have good grades as well. She wanted me to excel in both and maybe go to the next level."

In addition to putting in the work in the classroom, Richardson is a member of Highland Park's Black Student Union and Spirit Club as well as the Science Olympiad. He also is involved in a number of community service projects in which Williams engages his basketball team.

"When we're doing our volunteer initiatives going to an elementary school, doing a food drive, whatever, he's always the first one to sign up," Williams said. "Like many of our guys, he's grown up in a different environment. But even without having his dad, he's special. His mom has done a great job with him, putting those values in him."

Richardson's path to the next level is being laid, most likely on the gridiron. Despite being limited to just six games this fall, Richardson was named Highland Park's MVP and finished with 1,674 all-purpose yards and earned first-team All-Centennial League honors as a returner and second-team honors at receiver.

Even with Highland Park not enjoying team success, Richardson has caught the eye of recruiters. He had an official visit to Kansas State for the Wildcats' home finale two weeks ago and also has visited a handful of other schools as well.

"You have to do your best and also do everything you can for the team," he said. "Coaches see that."

He very well could compete in track at the next level as well. He got into the sport last spring and after winning City and Centennial League titles, qualified for the State Outdoors despite not competing in a meet until the final month of the season. He had spent the bulk of the spring on the baseball team, really turning his attention to track once the baseball season came to an end.

With Highland Park not enjoying a great deal of success in that sport, there have been people in Richardson's ear to give it up and concentrate on track. But he isn't having it.

"I've always played baseball; done it way longer than I've done track," he said. "Track's not really something you have to prepare as much for so I go to baseball and then track afterwards. Everybody thinks I should quit playing baseball and just focus on track. But baseball's always been something I've played and I want to help us win there, too."

That desire to help Highland Park establish success has remained strong with Richardson shrugging off overtures to perhaps transfer to a school with established programs. 

"Naw man, I love this school," he said. "There's no place I'd rather be."

And Williams said Highland Park is more than grateful to have his presence in its hallways and community.

"He just continues to amaze," Williams said. "Every time you think he's done or down, he shows back up again. We're in an environment where the temptations to pull you off that right path are very apparent and he has never ever remotely wavered. ... He's an individual you want on a Highland Park team. He's the kind of individual that's a leader and helps create a culture that can take us a long, long way.

"He just wants to be at Highland Park and do whatever he can to impact whatever he can. As a coach, you dream of having individuals like that on your team. He's just special."