CROOKSTON, Minn. - It was a cold, windy day in Crookston in 2014. The Golden Eagles were hosting No. 2 University of Minnesota Duluth at Ed Widseth Field. In the press box, sit two proud parents. One of those parents, Nancy Connette was in the midst of a battle with breast cancer and struggling with cold temperatures due to her weak immune system. Little did anyone know it would be the last time that she would get to watch her son Adam Connette play football in person.

Flash forward to 2017 and that young freshman has turned into a grown man who has etched his name into Minnesota Crookston football lore as he comes into his final game with staggering numbers including 237 receptions, 2,724 yards and 22 receiving touchdowns. His receptions and receiving yards marks shattered records set by football heroes of times past in Crookston with Mark Olsonawski and Carl Aho. His touchdown receptions tally sits just one shy of tying Aho's mark of 23. There is no doubt in his mind that he wouldn't have been able to get here with the help of his big family, especially a loving mother who is still watching over her son, and the brothers at Minnesota Crookston who have become like family.

"Everything I do I am doing to represent myself and my family and most of all my mom and God," Connette said. "I try to do the right thing every day, and I know she would be proud of me."

Connette's story to Crookston, a town of over 7,000 located in the fertile farm country of the Red River Valley, starts in a more fast-paced environment in the Southern California town of Corona, located in between Los Angeles and Riverside. The undersized wide receiver comes from a very athletic family and he had seen his two older brothers Simon and Brandon go to Division I schools to play football. Brandon went to Duke University to play quarterback, while Simon went to San Jose State University as a defensive back. Adam would get looks as a walk-on at the Division I level, but that isn't where his story would take him.

"There were a few Division I schools that had offered me partial scholarships or walk-on opportunities but I chose the University of Minnesota Crookston over them," Connette said. "I went on a visit here and I really liked what they had to offer. I liked all the people around, so I ended up choosing to come here. I also had a coach that recruited me that went out to California to my high school and I liked what he had to say."

Connette achieved his dream of playing college football, a lot because of a big, competitive family that helped him grow as a player and a person. Adam grew up in a household with six siblings, including five brothers and one sister.

"We had competitions in everything," Connette said. "My brothers and I were very athletic, and even my sister. We would get in some competition. Everything around the house was a competition, who could fold their laundry the fastest, who could bring in the most groceries. My brothers and sister always made each other stronger any way possible."

While football is his love now, it wasn't always that way. Connette grew up in a family that loved hockey with his Dad still playing hockey to this day. His love of hockey makes it seem like destiny that he ended up 1,800 miles from home in the state of hockey.

"We all actually started out playing hockey," Connette said. "My dad actually still plays hockey to this day. We were huge hockey fans growing up. Then we kind of switched over from ice hockey to football and then football became the big sport for everybody."

When first arriving in Crookston, Connette set his eyes on the record book and wondered what it would be like to achieve numbers set by the likes of Olsonawski and Aho and other Minnesota Crookston greats.

"I definitely set goals for myself," Connette said. "I remember my first day coming here I went online and checked all of the records and recognition and saw all the stats. I worked mostly for the wins but that stuff came along with it, so I was able to break records."

Through his journey at Minnesota Crookston, while his family has been a driving force, it was also another family that has helped him achieve his goals as a Golden Eagle.

"It is my team that set me up to be able to break the records I have broken," Connette said. "Quarterbacks, other wide receivers and the linemen blocking. It is just not a one man job."

It has been more than just the acts on the football field that has made his teammates so important to him. It was the days in the dusk of his freshman season after his mom's death when it was his teammates comforting him and his teammates, especially the young men he came in with as a freshman, that became just as much family as his parents and his six siblings. It was his fellow teammates that got Connette through the highs and lows of a season and that helped make Crookston his home over the last four years.

"Those guys, I consider them my brothers," Connette said. "When my mom passed away in the spring of my freshman year, they were all there to comfort me and be there as my support if I needed anyone to talk to. They were always there for me, so that grew our relationship even more. Also just spending every day with them in football practice and in the weight room spending numerous hours with them made our friendship stronger."

Connette has also been pushed to be a better receiver by a junior who dons the jersey number one who lines up next to or on the other side of Adam on the line scrimmage.

"Having Rod (Stewart) next to you is every receivers dream," Connette said. "Not only can we get me the ball, but we have Rod as a deep threat. He pushes me to be better each and every game. Whether it is just saying, hey lets pick this up. I see him make a play and that pushes me to want to make a play. I have nothing but respect for Rod. He should be an All-American potential guy for Minnesota Crookston coming into next year."

Adam's journey will come to an end today in Crookston. The clock will tick the last seconds of his football career. He will be next to his family during Senior Day ceremonies. Connette will be next to his football family on the sideline and his career will close next to guys he came in with who helped him through the best and worst of times.

"There will be a lot of emotions going through me when the final second ticks off," Connette said. "With all the other seniors I have played with or the younger guys, as well. The relationships I have built will be changing. I will be going away back home and I won't be seeing these guys anymore. I won't be playing football with these guys come spring or next fall. I will definitely have many emotions. I hope to get a lot of pictures with my friends and keep those memories."

After today, Connette will focus on possibly playing football overseas or pursuing a career in communications in the college sports field, but he will also keep an eye on a program that he has grown in.

"Coach (Mark) Dufner is doing a great job," Connette said. "I have seen huge amounts of growth in communication and football on the field in general in my past experiences. I am excited to see how the program is able to grow with Coach Dufner leading the way."

The sunset of his career is upon him. He will go down as the best receiver in program history and one of the best receivers in NSIC history, currently sitting second all-time in receptions in the conference's history. It has been about family. His family back home in California and North Carolina, and his family at Minnesota Crookston. And a mother who will surely will be looking down proudly on Ed Widseth Field today as Connette makes his final reception, possibly final touchdown and takes his final snap in the Maroon and Gold. She would be proud!