It’s September 20 at Parkway South High School and Cairon Wesley, junior, is in the middle of his fourth varsity game of the season. Quarterback Austin Powers drops back and hits a wide open Wesley who stutter steps one defender and takes it all the way for a fifteen yard score, Wesley’s first varsity touchdown.

“It was for my dad,” Wesley recalls.

Just five days earlier, on September 15, Wesley received a call that would change his life forever. Corey Wesley, Cairon’s father and biggest supporter, had passed away.

While living up to his promise of never missing one of Cairon’s games, Cairon also attributes most of his athletic success and talent to his father.

“Well growing up, my dad never missed a sporting event no matter how far away it was,” Cairon said. “When I switched school districts to Rockwood, he promised he wouldn’t and he kept his promise”

During his middle school years, Cairon’s father would take him to local high schools and help him with ladder and bleacher workouts.

“I hated it but I knew it was going to make me better,” he said.

Cairon has a few ways to memorialize his father both before games and throughout his everyday life. Before every opening kickoff, Cairon plans to pray to his father in the end zone. He also had his father’s name tattooed on his left arm.

“I got the tattoo to remind me that he’s always with me,” he said.

During such a turbulent time in his life, Cairon said his teammates helped him cope by making a poster for him and his family and by attending his father’s funeral for support.

“It felt awesome to have everybody behind me.”