Posted on 09/21/2009 3:42:30 PM PDT by wagglebee
ST. JOSEPH, Missouri, September 21, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A heart-warming story of true sportsmanship last week turned what might have been a dismal defeat into an extraordinary victory for both teams and everyone who witnessed Matt Ziesel's touchdown run.
Matt, who has Down syndrome, is a freshman at Benton High School in St. Joseph, Mo. Despite his disability he suits up for every football game and cheers on his teammates from the sidelines.
Last Monday night the Benton Cardinals football team was losing its game against the Maryville Spoofhounds 46-0 when, with about ten seconds left in the game, Benton coach Dan McCamy called a timeout and went to confer with Spoofhounds coach David McEnaney.
"I did come over to some confused looks. They're, like, 'Ten seconds left in the game, 46 to nothing, what is he going to do? Throw in the towel?'" McCamy told NBC Sports.
Instead, he proposed that, if they were not opposed to giving up the shutout, they let Ziesel carry the ball in what he called Matt's Play. "I don't want him touched. No physical contact, but I want it to be as real as possible," McCamy said.
"I said 'Yeah, that's fine coach. Tell him to run all the way to the end zone," coach McEnaney said. "The (Maryville) kids got on board. They were real excited about it."
The Maryville Daily Forum described the play: Following the timeout Ziesel took his spot to the left of the quarterback. The ball was snapped and Ziesel took the ball on a sweep to the right gaining speed as he went. As he raced down the right sideline, Spoofhounds defenders peeled off one after the other.
Ziesel carried the ball for a 60-yard touchdown escorted into the end zone by his teammates who wrapped him in hugs following the score.
The crowd clapped and cheered their approval, and after the game, Matt Ziesel enthused, "I scored a touchdown! 60 yards, I go for touchdown for us!"
McEnaney said the Spoofhounds gave up their shutout but it was a small price to pay in comparison to what they got in return.
"It was a great opportunity for our kids to kind of realize that while, yes, winning is a big deal, there's bigger life lessons out there," McEnaney said.
Mike Ziesel, Matt's father and a high school athletic director, told Fox 4 News, "The people at Maryville were terrific. Our fans have always been supportive.
"Like any school in our conference, or in the area, you want to win. But to see those kids do what they did and their coaching staff, our coaching staff, collaborate on something like that was a feel good situation.
"You hear the loud cheering and see the support they give him. It's a sign of real sportsmanship and that winning is not the most important thing, or shutouts are not the most important thing," Mike Ziesel said.
The touchdown touched the hearts of everyone at the game, and since coach McCamy posted the video to YouTube the day after the game, it has been viewed almost 300,000 times.
The final score of the game was 46-6 in favor of the Spoofhounds, but on that extraordinary Monday night, everybody won.
Watch the YouTube video here. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ylwXOxKb7I)
Disgusting comments. But great video
Yeah, I saw post #5 was pulled and wondered how anyone could say anything bad about that, then I read the youtube comments.
I usually try to make fools of people like them but I think they already did a better job of it than I could ever hope to do.
Sometimes just letting everyone see what an ass a person is does the trick.
Thanks, wagglebee, I just sent this wonderful story to my Down Syndrome grandson’s parents.
What a winner!
I knew you would enjoy it!
So do their parents. All of the kids involved show that they understand the meaning of "sportsmanship".
Boy, I hate to be a wet blanket, but I don’t agree with what the coach came up with. I would have let the kid play, and instructed he receive the pass, but then let him take his tackle like the rest of ‘em remembering to tell him to really hang on to the ball. Then at the end of the game, the team’s players could all of given him a huge pat on the back saying they know exactly how he feels (it was 46-0!) ... I think he would have felt pretty good about that hobbling back to the bench.
Thanks for posting that!
Sorry - but that is not football. There are lots of ways to show love but breaking the rules is not one of them.
Growing up in Avon, NY we had a guy with Downs Syndrome, Drew Moran
I don't know how old he was back then, but he suited up for every game I can remember, he started before I started HS and continued well after I left.
The coaches had assigned him (allowed him ?) a bunch of jobs, being part of the team was the most important thing in his life. I'd forgotten all that, till I read the post. Thanks !
Sounds like WaterBoy in real life.
Wow! I've live near Maryville and St. Joseph all my life and had no idea that Spoofhound was a unique name.
I run our football booster club, every week we serve the team a meal. My best volunteers are a family with a son who is DS. Pierce is the most loyal fan to our football team. Win or lose he is just happy to see them play and get to spend time with them each week. I'm sending this video to his mom to make sure she sees it, but I suspect she knows all about it. The families with Down children are a very close knit group in our area.
With your own situation taking into account it is surprising you don’t have just a little of compassion!!!
Which rules were broken?
Pro-Life PING
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--Thomas Paine
My goodness. You have no idea of the depth of my compassion. My compassion IS for Matt. Just because he’s disabled doesn’t mean he would appreciate the dishonesty, should he discover (and no doubt, he can read) his achievement was not of his own making. As someone who IS disabled, it irks me to no end to be treated that way, as if my disability makes me stupid.
Oh well, nevermind, I can see from the other posts most just don’t understand.
The crowd clapped and cheered their approval, and after the game, Matt Ziesel enthused, "I scored a touchdown! 60 yards, I go for touchdown for us!"
Gosh, stories like these always bring tears to my eyes.
Thanks for sharing this heartwarming story.
My daughter, who does not have any disability other than a fear/dislike of organized sports, had a moment like this a couple of years ago in fourth grade p/e. She finally got to score at dodgeball to day the teacher deliberately started an argument with the person who should have thrown her out, in order to give her time to run. She just beamed when she got home, and later I heard about how her big moment happened from the teacher. I normally would say that sticking to the rules is the way to go and that people should earn their points, but I’m really glad the teacher did what he did. With a little confidence gained from that experience, she played a bit better and had a better attitude about p/e after that.
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