Fort Osage’s Skylar Thompson is The Star’s All-Metro football player of the year

Fort Osage quarterback Skylar Thompson says he has never handled losing particularly well. In fact, some of his most long-lasting memories are competitions in which he lost — and then reacted poorly. And it wasn’t just sports, either.

“I would usually cry when I lost, whether it was a video game or a board game or whatever,” said Thompson, The Star’s All-Metro football player of the year. “I’m a big guy on winning. I’ve been like that since I was a kid, and it just kind of carried over when I grew up.”

With one key difference.

“I eventually figured out how to use that to my advantage,” he said.

How? Motivation.

Take his senior season in football, for example. On Oct. 9, Liberty North defeated Fort Osage 21-14, handing Thompson his first regular season loss in his three years as the Indians’ starting quarterback. Fort Osage was shut out in the second half, and Thompson later criticized his own performance.

And then the Indians won the next six games, capping the streak with a 63-28 win against Chaminade in the Missouri Class 5 state championship game.

Thompson accounted for seven touchdowns (four passing, three rushing) in the state title game and broke a Show-Me Bowl record with 455 total yards of offense.

“He’s got a very good memory, and that loss stuck with him,” Fort Osage coach Ryan Schartz said. “He took it upon himself to make sure this season would end differently. That (loss) was a big key for him, and for us, too.”

Thompson, who has signed with Kansas State, finished the season with 46 total touchdowns. He passed for 2,128 yards and 25 touchdowns and ran for 1,099 yards and 21 touchdowns.

This story was originally published December 26, 2015 at 7:04 PM with the headline "Fort Osage’s Skylar Thompson is The Star’s All-Metro football player of the year."