Why Tate McNew’s football stardom at Maize South has been 16 years in the making
It’s not rare for boys in the backyard throwing the football around to dream about becoming a star quarterback one day.
Tate McNew was no different.
But he didn’t want to be just any quarterback. He wanted to be the quarterback for Maize South.
McNew has been practically raised in the school, which opened in 2009 with his mother, Amber, as a business teacher. The family believes Tate has attended every Maize South home football game in the program’s existence.
But he’s no longer hurling a football behind the stands on Friday nights, imagining what he could do on the field someday. Entering his senior year, Tate has rewritten the record book for passing at Maize South, including a six-touchdown performance last Friday to break his own single-game record. With him under center, the Mavericks have hopes of reaching their first state championship game.
For McNew, he is living out his dream.
“It just makes everything sweeter because it matters more,” McNew said. “I’ve grown up a Maverick, dreamed of representing the Mavericks and now it’s my time to show off the Mavericks.”
After throwing for 2,876 yards and scoring 45 total touchdowns last season, McNew has established himself as one of the premier quarterbacks in Kansas high school football.
Maize South coach Brent Pfeifer laughs when asked when he suspected he had something special at quarterback. He helped open Maize South in 2009 along with McNew’s mother and has been the team’s football coach ever since, meaning he has known Tate since he was a young boy with white-blonde hair.
Once Tate began playing football in the second grade, McNew’s mother would send Pfeifer a video highlight every week of her son playing quarterback with a plea to Pfeifer to stick around until he graduated.
“I feel like Tate and I have grown up together,” Pfeifer said. “I was a first-time head coach starting a brand-new program when he was just a kid learning the game. We’ve both grown up and put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into Maverick football. I’ve had Tate in the program with me for four years, but really it’s been 16.”
Expectations for McNew have been high since an early age.
When he was a fourth-grader playing junior football for the Wichita Bears, McNew was already calling audibles at the line and sending receivers in motion. When he was in eighth grade, during the coronavirus pandemic, McNew would eagerly await Zoom calls from Pfeifer to discuss the intricacies of Maize South’s offense. An injury led to him starting a Class 5A playoff game as a freshman and McNew hasn’t looked back since.
Right there beside him for every one of those snaps has been Landen Gatto and Christian McDonald, who have been teammates with McNew since the second grade. McNew credits them, both on and off the field, for helping him handle the pressure that comes with playing quarterback.
“Honestly, I don’t feel that much pressure because I’m out there playing with my best friends,” McNew said. “They make it so easy to drown out all of the noise and stuff that doesn’t matter. We’re always going out to eat and hanging out in the summer and after practices. This is what I love to do and it’s easy when you’re doing it with the people you love.”
That lifelong connection was on full display last Friday in Maize South’s 56-20 season-opening win over Newton when McNew completed 17 of 21 passes for 332 yards and six scores, including touchdowns to both Gatto and McDonald.
In fact, McNew connected on a 39-yard touchdown to Gatto on the first offensive play of the season. The duo had talked all summer about running a post route on the first play of their senior year. And sure enough, Gatto beat the safety to the middle of the field and McNew lofted a perfect ball that took him into the end zone.
“We just always know what the other is going to do,” said Gatto, who added he has never caught a pass from a quarterback other than McNew in a game. “He always puts the ball in a perfect spot where I’m the only one who can get it. I usually have a pretty good feeling before the play if the ball is going to me or not.”
McNew has gained the trust of all of his teammates through his work ethic, film study and sheer ability, but also by staying humble. It takes a certain amount of bravado and self-confidence to excel at quarterback, but McNew fully embraces the team concept of football and what it means to lead others.
When talking about his record-breaking success before Friday’s game at Salina South, he is quick to deflect credit to an offensive line anchored by seniors Derrick Junk, Alec Fuller and Cole Brogden, a receiving core that features Gatto, McDonald, Alex Singhateh, Reece Pauly, Braxton Liby, Stratten Ebers and Hayden Nuss.
It’s a quality that reminds Pfeifer of the best leaders who have come through the program. There’s always a different relationship between a quarterback and his head coach, but few can compare to the one McNew and Pfeifer have built for the last 16 years.
“It’s probably going to hit us both pretty hard whenever it’s over, but right now we are loving every minute of every day,” Pfeifer said. “There’s a lot of smiles and jokes and laughter. We make sure to check in with each other after every practice about what we need to do and we always end on ‘I love you’ on the way out. It’s a special thing.”
As she has watched her son break records, toss touchdowns and win games, Amber McNew has made sure to maintain perspective on a journey 16 years in the making.
While playing quarterback for Maize South has been Tate’s dream, watching him achieve his goals has fulfilled hers.
“It’s been such a special ride and that’s the hardest part about this being his senior year,” Amber said. “I just don’t want it to be over.”
This story was originally published September 11, 2024 at 5:26 AM.
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