Boy with cerebral palsy scores his first touchdown: 'One day he will run the ball on his own power'
Hayes Hutto, a 10-year-old from Commerce, Ga., didn’t just get to play with the Commerce Tigers on Saturday — he scored his first touchdown against the team’s rivals, the Jefferson Dragons.
This is a dream come true for many kids who have grown up loving football, but for Hayes and his family, it was monumental. Hayes was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was 18 months old; the fifth-grader uses a wheelchair to get around.
Hayes’s friends were the masterminds behind the play. Brody German, the quarterback of the team, along with Braden Coleman and Joseph Mobley, asked Curtis Coleman, a parent and defensive coach for the Tigers, for help. After Coleman reached out to the recreation department, the plan was in motion.
Suited up with his own jersey, helmet, and mouthguard, Hayes hit the field.
“At the end of the game against Jefferson and his cousin Britton, they allowed one more play for him to run the ball. Thank you everyone from both sides to allow this to happen,” Hayes’s father, Jon Hutto, wrote on Facebook.
German took the handoff and gave it to Hayes, who charged forward toward the end zone as the sideline erupted in cheers.
“Commerce coaches to Jefferson coaches and Commerce Rec. Thank you so much for making his dream come true. One day he will run the ball on his own power,” Jon Hutto wrote.
Facebook commenters are applauding the young people who made this moment possible.
Hayes’s family has a set up a Facebook page called Hayes’s Walk to document more of his journey.
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