Notre Dame’s Rader relishes return to the gridiron

Mike Rader had a pretty strong grasp of the talent pool he would have on his football team heading into the season.

However, the Green Bay Notre Dame first-year head coach was pleasantly surprised when he got to add a 6-foot-8 senior to his roster.

Rader didn’t exactly uncover a hidden gem in doing so. After all, he sees the player every day at home.

“He didn’t really tell me that he was going out,” Coach Rader said about his son, Matthew, who hadn’t gone out for football since his freshman year. “I knew he was thinking about it, but our agreement when he stopped playing football was ‘I’m not going to talk to you about it. I’m not going to convince you. It’s your choice.’”

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Matthew Rader couldn’t be happier with his decision to return to the gridiron this season.

Rader quickly knocked off the rust to earn a spot at tight end and defensive end for the Tritons, who play Rice Lake on Friday in a WIAA Division 3 state semifinal game.

Rader’s size and athleticism helped him make a rather smooth transition back into the sport, but he never truly left the game since he got to watch plenty of film with his father the last two years when Notre Dame made back-to-back D3 state championship game appearances.

“Football is a game that has been a part of my life pretty much forever,” Rader said. “I’ve always been watching film with him and knowing the offense when I wasn’t even playing. It was just fun to actually be a part of it this year.”

Rader is one of four seniors on the Notre Dame roster this season that returned to football after not going out since their freshman year. Avery Lyons, Adam Roitstein and Jon Holzbach also made the choice to do so, and they’ve all been rewarded by getting to experience a deep playoff run.

“What I’m hoping is they’re enjoying this whole experience because I want kids to play football,” Coach Rader said. “I don’t care how big or fast or strong you are or anything like that, I want them to play football because it’s a really cool experience. I’m glad that they made that choice to come along for the ride.”

Playing football again was exactly how Matthew Rader remembered it.

However, there was one big change for him.

“We don’t have pants that would normally fit a 6-8 person,” said Rader, who wants to play college basketball. “My pants don’t normally fit to go below my knees, so one of the refs told me to pull my pads down. So, that was unusual. It was just to get the knee pads down, but I thought that was a strange comment in the middle of a football game.”

Rader usually finds himself in the middle of the field on the line of scrimmage, blocking for the running game or trying to stop it.

His 6-foot-8 frame also makes for a nice target in the passing game, like last week when Wes Glime found Rader for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to seal a victory at West De Pere.

Although it’s primarily a coach-and-player relationship during practices and games, Rader said he has been making it a point during the playoffs to find his head coach for an extended hug between father and son after games.

“It has been an awesome experience,” Coach Rader said. “He’s stepped up. He’s played more physical than what I’ve seen him do his freshman year. He’s enjoying it. He’s enjoying hanging out with the guys and do all that kind of stuff, which is what I wanted him to get out of the whole experience. Anytime you can coach your son, it’s a great thing.”