The San Francisco 49ers wrapped up their preseason last Thursday, but several of the team's biggest stars had one more football game to attend to close out the week.
The night after the 49ers final preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders, T Trent Williams, RB Christian McCaffrey, FB Kyle Juszczyk, TE George Kittle, and QB Mac Jones made their way to Saint Francis High School in Mountain View to support one of their own.
Carter Shanahan, the son of 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, was making his varsity debut for the Saint Francis Lancers.
The 49ers veterans watched from the back of the end zone, eating hot dogs, laughing amongst themselves, and cheering on the home team as Saint Francis took on Manteca High School. The Lancers came away with a 31-23 victory, with Carter making two catches at wide receiver while also serving as the team's primary kick returner.
Carter is a junior at Saint Francis. His older sister, Stella, graduated from the school in May, while his youngest sister, Lexi, is currently in middle school.
The ties between the 49ers staff and Saint Francis High School run deeper than just the Shanahan family.
Former 49ers quarterback Alex Smith and NFL Hall of Famer Bryant Young joined the Saint Francis coaching staff this past summer as assistant coaches.
Estella Guido, the daughter of 49ers president and CEO Al Guido, is also a senior at Saint Francis and a standout member of the girls basketball team.
For Carter, playing football at Saint Francis is another chapter in a football journey that has been closely connected to his dad's profession from the very beginning.
Carter was the starting wide receiver in that season opener, taking after his dad, who played wide receiver throughout high school and college before beginning his coaching career.
Since Kyle Shanahan took over as head coach in 2017, Carter has remained a familiar face around the team's practice facility, building relationships with many of the players who have come through the 49ers locker room, including the five who showed up to support him Friday night.
For years Carter could be seen at Training Camp serving as a ball boy, which interestingly made him the second-generation Shanahan in the role.
Kyle Shanahan served as a ball boy for the 49ers when his father, Mike Shanahan, was the 49ers offensive coordinator in 1994.
Now, more than three decades later, another Shanahan is making his own way onto the football field.
In recent social media posts, Carter has shared videos of himself working out on the team's practice fields and inside the 49ers weight room.
On this Friday night in Mountain View, with some of the biggest stars in the 49ers locker room watching from the end zone, Carter's football worlds came together.
It was a full-circle moment for the Shanahan family, and a pretty special Friday night under the lights.
