Players, coaches and fans from both teams erupted in cheers Wednesday after an eighth-grade football player scored his first and the team's most memorable touchdown.
Jack Mccraw has spent the past two years cheering on his Chicago middle school teammates through every practice and every game from the sidelines in his wheelchair. The 13-year-old has cerebral palsy, but has always wanted to be an athlete, MyFoxChicago.com reported.
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The team's coach, Sean Masoncup, said before the game he told both the opposing team and his own team that he would be calling a play for Mccraw to score a touchdown. Everyone, including the crowd knew, except for Mccraw.
"We actually ran what's called a 27 sweep on the outside – it's about 9 yards for a touchdown and the crowd just went nuts and I went nuts," Masoncup told MyFoxChicago.com.
Masoncup was on the field to make sure the ball was in Mccraw's hands, and he took off for the endzone with his eyes on the goal post the entire time.
"When I came around, I looked at Jack, he had a little tear and the biggest smile ever," Masconcup said.
"It was really emotional because you know, he can't walk for the rest of his life, and it was just a dream for him to get the ball and score in an actually game," Zack Mettatal, the team's quarterback told MyFoxChicago.com.
Both teams celebrated around Mccraw in the endzone after he scored.
"The biggest thing for me was just the acceptance and the kids were all cheering and the cheerleaders ran up to the sidelines and the parents were cheering," Jill Mccraw, Jack's mother, told the website.
Jill said her son wants to play basketball when he gets to high school next year.
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