KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Skylar Thompson knows how to win, even if it's ugly.
In 2015, Thompson led Fort Osage High School to a state championship.
On Sunday, Thompson did something that only two other quarterbacks have done since 2001 — lead the Miami Dolphins to the NFL playoffs.
"Yeah, there's not anybody in this school that doesn't know who he is," said Ryan Schartz, Fort Osage activities director and former head football coach. "You can walk around the hallways, you can walk in the office, you see his pictures everywhere."
As Thompson reached a milestone in his football career, KSHB 41 went back to where it all began — Fort Osage.
"I've known him for a long time, ever since he's been a little kid," Schartz said.
Sitting down with Thompson's high school football coach, Schartz said Thompson went from being the ball boy as a kid, to etching his name on the record boards at Fort Osage High School.
"He was a great athlete, and he did have that it factor," Schartz said. "The biggest thing that I noticed with him was his ability to play really, really well in big moments."
In 2015, Thompson was the Thomas. A Simone Award, winner which honors the best all-around player in the Kansas City area.
He won a state title and went on to play at Kansas State University, where he holds the lowest interception percentage record.
On Sunday, Thompson helped send the Dolphins to the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons.
"Oh my gosh, it's nerve wracking actually," Schartz said. "You know, because I want him to do so well and I don't have any control over that."
Schartz told KSHB 41 he still talks with Thompson often. Even texting with him before Sunday's big game.
"He reached out right before the game, the night before the game and he sent me a text that said, 'The hay is in the barn,'" Schartz said. "And so that was a quote I always used to say the night before a Friday night football game, meaning the works done, they hay is in the barn, we're ready to go to work."
As Miami prepares for Buffalo this weekend, it's unclear who will be the starting quarterback.
Dolphins starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has been in concussion protocol and the backup, Teddy Bridgewater, is nursing a dislocated right pinky.
Whether or not Thompson steps on the field in the Wild Card round of the playoffs, Fort Osage is rocking with number 19.
"I don't know how long his career is going to go in the NFL, but even beyond that you know, I feel fine about what he's going to accomplish," Schartz said. "He's just a good kid, good human being."
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