THE FRONT ROW with BRUCE BOURQUIN, Sept. 26, 2014

As part of an extended 11-member family and a key part of his football 'family', in both realms Lakeland High senior running back Tuekota Tate-Vandever has earned his share of success.

In January 2013, Tuekota was adopted by Tony Vandever, who is studying at North Idaho College to become an elementary school teacher, and is planning on transferring to the University of Idaho, and his wife Shannon Vandever.

Shannon Vandever who owns A Place For Kids Learning Center, a day care facility in Post Falls. Both are 42 years old, have lived in Rathdrum for 20 years, met at Nampa High and have been involved in foster care for several years.

Tate-Vandever has three siblings - older brother Keyoba Carter, 11, younger sister Chantell Vandever, 14, and younger brother Tanner Vandever, 11, who plays football and baseball - who were also adopted by the Vandevers, along with two other adopted children. The Vandevers also have one biological son who lives with them and two biological daughters in their mid-20s who are married and have moved out of the house.

"We have a lot of people at our dinner table," Tate-Vandever said. "It's been good. We do a lot of camping and watch a lot of family movies. My favorite movie is 'The Blind Side.'"

That movie, released in November 2009, was based on the story of Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Michael Oher, who as a high school student was adopted after he was homeless for a period of time. During April of that year, as an eighth-grade student at St. Maries Middle School, Tate-Vandever and his three siblings moved into the Vandevers' home and they became his foster parents.

"We specialize in sibling groups so they don't get split up," Tony Vandever said. "Tuekota is a real lovable kid, a very hard worker. He works hard on the football field and in the weight room, he works hard in the classroom and he works hard in life."

Tony Vandever also said he allowed Tuekota and his siblings to choose their own last names, either Tate or Vandever. Tony said Tuekota was originally going to choose Vandever, but instead chose to go with Tate-Vandever in part because "it looks pretty cool on the back of a football jersey."

Tuekota's work ethic is shown in that a few days per week he will work at the information booth at Silverwood Theme Park in Athol, then during the same week, he will perform odd jobs at friends' parents' homes.

WHEN TATE-VANDEVER was adopted, the Spokane-born young student was in need of a better home than he was living in at his hometown of St. Maries, where he lived from ages 1 until right after he turned 15. He was adopted from his birth mother and his stepfather. His biological father, who he has never met, had the last name of Tate, and Tuekota did not wish to give the names of his biological parents or his stepfather.

"I got taken into foster care," Tate-Vandever said. "The conditions of the house weren't good."

Playing college football, he has not received any scholarship offers but has earned As and Bs in school and enjoys science and weightlifting classes. As a junior last season, he was the leading rusher on a Hawks team that finished 5-5 and won the 4A Inland Empire League, before losing to Skyview in the first round of the state playoffs. He missed the last two games of the season with an injury suffered against Moscow.

"I dove for more yards and someone dove on my ankle and twisted it and it messed up my Achilles," Tate-Vandever said. "It made me so mad. One of my goals was to not injure myself, try to pull my team to state, build my relationships with my teammates."

The 5-foot-6, 175-pound running back owns a truckload of broken tackles, speedy touchdown runs and physical running.

His best attribute to the team may be his energy and smile. He is among the nominees for homecoming king, to be announced at halftime of tonight's "Battle of the Prairie" nonleague home football game against Post Falls at Corbit Field in Rathdrum.

Going into tonight's game, over a 14-game stretch dating back to last season, Tate-Vandever has rushed for 958 yards on 151 carries for a 6.3 yards-per-carry average. He has 1,224 all-purpose yards and 14 touchdowns, including five this season. He was an all-Inland Empire League running back.

"He always has a smile on his face," Lakeland coach Tim Kiefer said. "Kids accepted him right off the bat. He always brightens up a room. These are a tightknit group of kids. We've always known him as Tuekota Tate. I always called him 'Tater Tot.' He's a pretty sharp kid. He's agile, in the open field he's shifty."

Tate-Vandever is also a two-time state participant in wrestling. Last season, he won a regional championship.

AS A Seminole Indian with some African-American blood in him, Tate-Vandever grew up close to the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation.

As a fifth-grade player on a junior tackle team, Tate-Vandever began playing football. And he wasn't necessarily looked at as a full-fledged running back until he was in seventh grade.

"They gave me the football," Tate-Vandever said. "The guys watched me tip over guys and I started at fullback. They just said, 'Keep doing that', so I did.'"

In fifth grade in 2007, he started out with the love of playing defense.

"They put me on defense and I can get after people," Tate-Vandever said.

The running back known by his coach as "Tater Tot" has gotten after life just as hard, after finding a happy home.

Bruce Bourquin is a sports writer at The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2013 or via e-mail at bbourquin@cdapress.com