The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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A DARK TIME Later, away from the throng of re- porters, McNamara gave details, re- vealing he's played a leading role in this movie before. Going into his freshman year at Da- monte Ranch High School in Reno, Nev., McNamara played the role of challenger. He stood as the young hotshot, look- ing to overtake an upperclassman who earned all-conference honors the year before. The veteran QB certainly wasn't look- ing to share time at the spot, and his many friends and supporters at the high school didn't anticipate a coup from a kid who'd been a mere eighth grader the year before. They witnessed said coup four games into the season. "He had earned a lot of respect from his teammates, the school, and everyone really loved him," McNamara recalled. "As I competed and we split time at the beginning of the season, I thought I was practicing better than him and playing better than him. A lot of people didn't think I should be on the field." Those people didn't include the Da- monte Ranch coaches. They put him out there, and he produced 2,042 passing yards and 17 touchdowns. What the move didn't produce in- volved peace among the villagers. Many weren't happy at all about the develop- ment, and didn't mind if everyone knew. Those included some actually on the squad at the time. "It led to the team dividing," McNa- mara said. "It was a pretty dark time in my life, at times. In high school, the quarterback is usually the most popular kid in school. "I found it pretty difficult to make friends in school, at the beginning. By the end of the season, there were peo- ple screaming at me to get off the field. Fights broke out in the grandstands. "My parents had to deal with some stuff as well. It was difficult for them, too. But for me, at 15 years old, it helped me mature really fast. I figured out there's more to being a quarterback than just throwing a football." Gary McNamara, Cade's father, coached baseball at Damonte Ranch back then. He and Cade's mom, Nicole, saw the difficulties play out, but didn't fully understand their reach until much later. DECEMBER 2021 THE WOLVERINE 23