JOCKS BEHAVING EXCEPTIONALLY

Team Designs Play for Special Player

Although senior Wade Ackerson showed up at 6:30 a.m. four days a week for weight training during the summer and runs with the Fruitport High School football team in Michigan, he can't play for the school.

Wade, the team's manager, has cerebral palsy and lost both his mother and father in just the last few years. He's currently living with an uncle, but his real family is the Trojan squad. Coach Steve Wilson wanted to reward Wade for his devotion and promised to get him into a game on senior night.

After his uncle gave permission for him to play and he passed a physical, he began practicing with the team, which designed a play for him called "The Wade Wedge."

On game day, Wade's name was called in the third quarter on a two-point conversion. Lining up next to the quarterback, he got the ball. The offensive line did the rest, surging through the opponents to allow Wade, just 5'2" and 116 pounds, to slip into the end zone. His teammates lifted him on their shoulders afterward.

"Wins are nice, trophies and championships are nice," Wilson told the Grand Haven Tribune," but this was special."

To read the version of the story that was published in the Grand Haven Tibune, click here.