Posted on 09/25/2005 7:39:02 PM PDT by rawhide
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Charlie Weis doesn't usually let anyone else call plays on offense. He made an exception for 10-year-old Montana Mazurkiewicz.
The Notre Dame coach met last week with Montana, who had been told by doctors weeks earlier that there was nothing more they could do to stop the spread of his inoperable brain tumor.
"He was a big Notre Dame fan in general, but football especially," said his mother, Cathy Mazurkiewicz.
Weis showed up at the Mazurkiewicz home in Mishawaka, just east of South Bend, and talked with Montana about his tumor and about Weis' 10-year-old daughter, Hannah, who has global development delay, a rare disorder similar to autism....
....Weis asked Montana if there was something he could do for him. He agreed to let Montana call the first play against Washington on Saturday. He called "pass right."
Montana never got to see the play. He died Friday at his home.
(Excerpt) Read more at sportsline.com ...
"He said what are we going to do?" Weis said. "I said we have no choice. We're throwing it to the right."
Weis called a play where most of the Irish went left, Quinn ran right and looked for tight end Anthony Fasano on the right.
Mazurkiewicz watched with her family.
"I just closed my eyes. I thought, 'There's no way he's going to be able to make that pass. Not from where they're at. He's going to get sacked and Washington's going to get two points,"' she said.
Fasano caught the pass and leapt over a defender for a 13-yard gain.
"It's almost like Montana was willing him to beat that defender and take it to the house," Weis said.
Mazurkiewicz was happy.
"It was an amazing play. Montana would have been very pleased. I was very pleased," she said. "I was just so overwhelmed. I couldn't watch much more."
Weis called her again after the game, a 36-17 victory by the 13th-ranked Fighting Irish, and said he had a game ball signed by the team that he wanted to bring to the family on Sunday.
"He's a very neat man. Very compassionate," she said. "I just thanked him for using that play, no matter the circumstances."
What a great story. Thanks for posting.
What a nice story.
I wish the little kid would have told Coach Weiss that he wanted the Irish to beat USC this year!
I am not a fan of the Irish but I love the heart of this story!!!!!
You know, ND used to have a QB by the name of Montana. Went on to have a pretty fair pro career. Wonder if the kid was named after him.
Nice story.
I hope Montana is watching from the stands in Heaven. God bless him.
BUMP!
Methinks he's the right man to coach Notre Dame.
Must read and hug your kids BUMP!!!!
Ping! Get out your hanky for this one.
I do believe in two weeks the Irish will end SC's winning streak and knock them out of the the #1 spot and the BCS picture
"Wonder if the kid was named after him."
Yeah. That's waht the story says.
Great story, and the kid was grounded in reality up to the very end.
ND's strength of schedule is getting weaker by the week. ND couldn't stop Washington from moving up and down the field, so why would you think they have any chance against USC?
USC by at least 30, but probably 40 or more.
bump
I'm not sure there will be any (legit) undefeated schools this year besides USC.
heck there might not be any undefeated schools playing scrub schedules. (scrubs playing scrubs)
USC 437, notre dame 2
"He said what are we going to do?" Weis said. "I said we have no choice. We're throwing it to the right."
..."It's almost like Montana was willing him to beat that defender and take it to the house," Weis said.
Uhhhh....OK. But I betcha Weis wouldn't have gone ahead with the call if it was a conference game, or against an opponent they weren't certain they could kick up and down the field anyhow. Had the pass been intercepted for a touchdown, it would have gone down in history alongside letting placekicker/Anita Hill wannabe Katie Hnida attempt an extra point in last year's Las Vegas Bowl, or the play President Nixon called for the Washington Redskins in their NFC playoff loss against the 49ers -- if, of course, the latter wasn't an urban legend.
Washington, once a Pac 10 powerhouse, crashed and burned like the Hindenberg last season (only one win), and is in rebuilding mode. Ex-Irish coach Tyrone Willingham, who has taken on the gargantuan task of making Washington respectable again, would have looked awfully good to Irish fans had the play failed.
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