I love football.

And for a time, earlier in my life, I worked with developmentally disabled adults, including many with Down Syndrome.

And so my emotions overwhelmed me when I read about this.

Matt Ziesel doesnÂ’t stray far from coach Dan McCamy on the sidelines during St. Joseph Benton High SchoolÂ’s freshman football games. He likes to stay within earshot.

“I’m ready, Coach. … Coach, I’m ready,” Ziesel says.McCamy says he hears it about 10 times a game, and also at practices, from Ziesel, his 5-foot-3, 110-pound running back.

So in the final stages of Benton’s third game of the season on Monday at Maryville, McCamy decided it was time for Ziesel — a 15-year-old freshman with Down syndrome — to make his season debut.

With about 10 seconds left in the game, and Benton trailing 46-0, McCamy called his final timeout, told an assistant coach to organize the team for the “Matt play” and ran across the field to the Maryville defensive huddle — and to some puzzled looks from the opposing players.

And the result?

This.