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A Scholar & Champion: Madelia's QB Does It All

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Adam Cooling is heating up.

Watching the Madelia quarterback is a little bit like watching a video game. He's quick, he's fast and he will not stop until he's crossed the goal-line.

"It's tough to bring down when a guy is standing still and all of a sudden he's full speed and you have to break your hips down and tackle him. It's really tough to do," said defensive coordinator Ben Lehman.

The highlights speak for themselves, including a game against Fulda where Cooling rushed for four touchdowns and threw for another three. He started playing quarterback for the Blackhawks as a 9th grader, back when defensive ends had about 50 pounds on him.

"It was pretty scary, because all the guys were a lot bigger than me and I just went with it and tried to do my best for the team," Cooling said.

But his size then turned him into the workout warrior he is now.

"If you tell him he needs to wake up in the morning and run four miles to school so he can get in better shape -- he'll do it. He's done it," Lehman said.

Being a competitor and a team leader has gone a long way towards Cooling's success at Madelia. And there are school records to prove it.

He's broken a total of seven school records this fall: four for career and three for single games. But he says his biggest accomplishment so far didn't happen on the gridiron. It happened on the wrestling mat when he won a state title last winter.

"That's been my dream since I was a little kid and accomplishing it was a big deal for me," he said.

But football's what matters right now.

"He will do what it takes to get that first down, whether it's smash into someone or go right around them," said wide receiver Devin Ulmen.

Tuesday could be Adam's last home game at Madelia. And he's hoping for just a few more video game-like highlights before he hangs up the cleats.

"I'm going to miss a lot of it," he said. "It all went by so fast and not playing on this field again...it's just going to be weird."

Cooling was also a state champion in track in the 4-by-8 last spring. He's also a straight-A student and hopes to play football or wrestle in college.

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