Rivals Help Teen with Down Syndrome Score Touchdown

Matt Zeisel, a teen with Down Syndrome, had longed to play in a football game, but never had a chance to get off the bench—until his coach and the rival team agreed to give him the chance of a lifetime.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on September 21 2009

Matt Ziesel

At 5’3 and 110 pounds, 15-year-old Matt Zeisel isn’t your typical burly running back. And despite his desire to get in the game, Matt had spent much of the football season sitting on the bench, watching his teammates at St. Joseph Benton High School in Kansas City race across the field. Matt has Down Syndrome, and his doctors have said that it isn’t safe for him to get involved in contact sports, so, for his own good, his coach, Dan McCamy, has kept him on the sidelines.

But at the game last Monday, Matt’s team was down by 46-0 when Coach McCamy had a bright idea. He called a time-out and went to ask the opposing team a question. “I’ve got a special situation,” he said. “I know you guys want to get a shutout. Most teams would want a shutout, but in this situation I want to know if maybe you can let one of my guys run in for a touchdown.”

The team quickly agreed to the coach’s request. Then, for the first time all season, Coach McCamy called in the “Matt Play.” With Coach McCamy and his teammates’ urging, Matt jumped up off the bench and raced out to the field. He took hold of the football, and, as soon as the referee ended the time-out, he ran a full 60 yards from one end of the field to the other, throwing the ball down to score a 6-point touchdown. After cheering on Matt’s play, his teammates scooped him up for a big group hug.

Coach McCamy posted a video of Matt’s touchdown on YouTube the next morning for his parents to see, and, since then, the heartwarming play has been watched more than 275,000 times. Matt’s mother claims that everyone she knows who’s seen the clip has broken into tears while watching it.

“It’s spread not just to the community of St. Joseph, but now it’s spread across the region. How something so simple can impact so many — to me, that’s the amazing part about it.”

Check out the inspiring video of Matt’s touchdown.