After struggling through his sophomore season, a disconsolate Nathan Padia wanted to quit football and concentrate on basketball.

But during a poignant conversation, his mother, Kathy, emphasized that few sophomores receive playing time on the varsity level.

“I wasn’t really enjoying it,” Padia said. “She really just helped me get through that and just told me to stick with it and persevere.”

Fortunately for Lawrence High, Padia continued playing football. And now the gamebreaking senior wide receiver leads the Sunflower League in receiving with 500 yards and ranks second in kickoff-return average with 34.1 yards per game.

His importance increased as injuries limited receiving options Jared Vinoverski, Travis Sanders and Nick DeBiassie.

“The passing game has kind of evolved as kids have become healthy,” Lawrence High coach Dirk Wedd said. “The one constant is Nathan, and we’ve relied on him.”

Sunflower League teams recognize his worth. Shawnee Mission West, arguably the league’s best team, double-covered him all game.

In addition to his contributions as a kickoff and punt returner, he covers the opponent’s best receiver on defense.

“He’s very valuable.” Wedd said. “He’s on the field all the time.”

That wasn’t the case last year when 21 seniors from LHS’ 10-2 squad prevented Padia from seeing much time on the field.

The coaching staff, however, saw flashes of his talent during practice. During mop-up duty in a 57-3 victory over Topeka High in Week Nine, Padia gained a lot of yardage while making a running catch on a punt.

Lawrence High senior wide receiver Nathan Padia has been the Lions' biggest playmaker this season. Padia has recorded 500 receiving yards and four touchdowns going into Friday's game against city rival Free State.

“Right then, it showed that he had some guts,” Wedd said, ” and was about ready to step up.”

Padia made the transformation from struggling sophomore to potential-packed junior to playmaking senior by working on his fundamentals and conditioning.

Jeremy Milner, wide receivers and quarterbacks coach, taught Padia how to run precise routes and catch with his hands – not his chest. Hauling in passes has become instinctive.

“He has the innate ability to catch the football,” Wedd said. “That’s a huge improvement.”

Padia did not begin lifting weights until his junior year. But since then he has improved his speed and added 15 pounds of muscle to his sinewy, 6-foot-3, 175-pound frame.

“It’s all about summer weights,” Padia said.

It’s also all about bloodlines.

Padia’s, father, Ray Staten, played wide receiver at West Virginia before transferring to Pittsburg State, where he caught 54 passes for 899 yards in 1992. Staten played one year for the San Diego Chargers.

“Athleticism is what he had,” Padia said. “And that’s what been passed down to me.”

Padia would like to take his game to the next level as well.

He has received interest from junior colleges, Division II, Division III and a few Division I schools. Ivy League schools – Columbia, Harvard and Yale – also have contacted him, and those academically rigorous schools have piqued his interest.

“As a student, I like those options,” Padia said. “Going to college and being able to play a sport and get a scholarship and then get an education – that’s really what I want to do.”

Playing college football would complete an improbable turn of events for Padia. Wedd said he did not expect Padia, a shooting guard/forward for the LHS basketball team, to play football during his freshman or sophomore year.

“I didn’t think he’d come out,” Wedd said. “But he kept surprising us.”

Padia continues to excel at both sports. Asked whether he has a greater affection for the roundball or the pigskin, he smiled, knowing LHS prepares for rival Free State before another run to the playoffs.

“Right now, I prefer football,” Padia said.