Missouri high schooler with cerebral palsy scores 80-yard touchdown
By Asher
Feltman
September
26, 2019
JEFFERSON
CITY, MO. – High school football memories are made on Friday night.
On Sept.
20, a game against Hickman and Smith-Cotton in Jefferson City, Missouri ended
with a lopsided Hickman victory.
But nobody
will remember that.
On the
game’s final play, Smith-Cotton senior P.J. Allred took the snap and ran 80
yards to the end zone for a touchdown. Allred suffers from cerebral palsy but is
as part of the team as any of the Smith-Cotton Tigers players.
He was
selected as team captain prior to the game and led his team out on the field. His
coach says that even though his body has limitations, his heart and attitude
set a gold standard.
The
opposing coach knows he’s going into the weekend with a win. But his memory,
like everyone else’s on both teams, will be watching Allred run down the field
and score.
“To see
the entire sideline run and sprint, even our cheerleaders, the actual win was
meaningless at that point,” he said. “The fact that PJ got that moment, and
then everyone could celebrate, that was the most important thing.”
