Colorado football team helps student with cerebral palsy achieve his dream
Gateway High (Aurora, Colo.) football coach refused to grant Eric Hernandez any special treatment, even if the Olympians junior's cerebral palsy required him to use a walker.
If Hernandez wanted to achieve his dream of playing football, he'd have to practice. Just like everyone else on a Gateway team that reached Colorado's Class 5A playoffs this fall.
So, Hernandez donned a black and white No. 8 jersey all week in preparation of Gateway's final regular-season game at winless Adams City High (Commerce City, Colo.).
"I said no matter what the score is, whether we're winning, losing, tied, didn't matter," Gateway coach Ashour Peera told NBC's 9NEWS in a feature story on the occasion (h/t MaxPreps). "We were going to run this play, even if it meant us losing the game."
In a coordinated effort between the two teams, Gateway recovered an on-sides kick while leading 41-0 in the final minute of the fourth quarter, lined Hernandez up between two teammates in the backfield of a wishbone set and handed the ball off to the junior. The Olympians ushered Hernandez into the end zone on the first carry of his football career.
"I was afraid I was going to fumble it," Hernandez told the local news station. "Cheerleaders cheered for me." As the crowd erupted in cheers (and tears), Hernandez jogged off the field on his own accord. A remarkable moment.
Of course, the Gateway football program is no stranger to remarkable feats by its student-athletes. Just last season, senior offensive tackle Zack Golditch returned to the field a month after surviving the Aurora movie theater shooting.
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