This story appears in the Aug. 26–Sept. 2, 2019, issue of Sports Illustrated. For more great storytelling and in-depth analysis, subscribe to the magazine—and get up to 94% off the cover price. Click here for more.
Keanon Lowe woke up early on May 17 at his modest house in northeast Portland. He drank coffee, ate a bagel and an apple, and drove his dented Jeep Cherokee to Parkrose High, a big school in an economically challenged part of town, where he let football players into the weight room and started preparing for Day 2 of the conference track meet.