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)
These kids has something to really be proud of.
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The coach and players of the green team should be commended as well. That was so nice and this young man will never forget it !!
That was great !
I wonder where the Spoofhounds got the name for their team (serious question)? Usually high-school teams pick college or pro teams, but I’ve never heard of any other team with that name.
I disagree.
In spite of the downs, Matt sounds like a pretty bright kid. Should he find out it was all a dishonest trick, the coach and team’s “feel good” (pat ourselves on the back) moment will have been at Matt’s expense.
Big heart’s were on that field, on the side line’s and in the stand’s, God smiled.
That is true sportsmanship shown by both coaches and players. A big thank you from a football fan.
Never mind, found it in wikipedia (at least the non-political stuff is fairly reliable). Back in the ‘20s, the Spoof Hound was a plaster toy prize from a carnival, similar to a Kewpie doll. One day around that time, when the players were having a particularly bad day, the coach told them they were playing like spoofhounds, and the players adopted the name for each other. Eventually it became popular enough that the team formally adopted the name. They are the only team in the country that uses this name.
I don’t see it as a trick. They gave him a touchdown as a gift.
Very kind of them.
Good story. They’re not the only unusually named team.
Scottsdale (AZ) Community College’s sports teams are the Artichokes.
I disagree with you.
It wasn't 'dishonest', and it wasn't a 'trick'.
Matt knew they lost, and lost badly.
All that happened was that Matt got the opportunity to keep it from being a shutout.
I have seen pro football teams who have let another team escape the same situation, and they only did so because they were tired.
The coaches and players of the two teams in this video did it for a very different reason.
Thanks for posting!
Now that is what I call coaches.
Great job teaching those kids, and learning from them.
If you read some of the posts below the video, it’s hard to feel compassion for some of the responders!
If you read some of the posts below the video, it’s hard to feel compassion for some of the responders!
I coached kids for 15 years in football. You would be amazed at how good they can be if given the chance. It was some of the best 15 years of my life.
Some people are simply consumed with hatred.
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