'He was a strong young man': Former Sask. Hilltops and Huskies QB loses fight with cancer

Former Saskatoon Hilltops and University of Saskatchewan Huskies Quarterback Chase Bradshaw has lost his battle with cancer.

“This is the most devastating moment of our lives,” said his mother Kathy Bradshaw.

“He was a strong young man. It was really tough over the last two and a half years to see that strength and vitality taken out of them because of the brain cancer that he was suffering from,” his father Bruce Bradshaw said.

Born in 1989 Chase Bradshaw was the youngest of three boys. He would attend Evan Hardy Collegiate quarterbacking the Souls for three years. In his senior season, he helped the school capture a city championship. He would then play for the Saskatoon Hilltops for five seasons, starting in his final three.

His leadership would shine after losing the Prairie Football Conference Championship in 2009 where he would go up to every fifth-year player and tell them he was sorry they weren’t leaving as champions.

“He told me he'll do everything he can to make sure that never happens again,” said former Hilltops teammate Bradley Chiasson. “As far as his Hilltops career is concerned, he went out a winner.”

Bradshaw would help lead the team to back-to-back national championships in 2010 and 2011. He then would quarterback the Huskies, where he would set a record for most pass attempts in a single game.

“When he was out there, the whole team just believed that you were going to win,” said former hilltops teammate Mitch Stevens. “We always just had a special relationship that I will always remember.”

Bradshaw also found success off the field, graduating with a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 2013. He would later earn his MBA in Germany while playing professionally there.

“It's tough to find a guy with a better value system,” said former Huskies teammate Braxton Lawerence. “Humble, quiet leader. Never really had to say too much because his play kind of spoke for itself.”

For a person with a mantle filled with accolades his family says his greatest accomplishment was the man he was at home. In Grade 8 he began dating Jenna Baptist, who he would marry in 2018. She gave birth to their son Ace – a name inspired by Bradshaw’s nickname "Chase the Ace."

“His son Ace just brought him such tremendous joy and he became an incredible family man,” said Bruce Bradshaw.

Among all the 33-year-old accomplished, his parents hope his character is what is remembered.

“He always was more concerned about others than himself and he never complained,” said Kathy Bradshaw.

“I would want him to be remembered for being a great father, husband and family man. For being positive and respectful, young man upbeat and just full of life,” said Bruce Bradshaw.

At Saturday’s Huskies game Bradshaw will be honoured with a moment of silence.