Cerebral palsy has not stopped PJ Allred from playing all the sports he can.
And this weekend, the senior at Smith-Cotton High School (Sedalia, Missouri) got to score his first high school touchdown.
On Friday night, Allred was selected to be a captain for the football game against Hickman. He asked if he could run the flag out of the tunnel, which he did with the team at his back.
Then, for the final play in the game, he got on the field for the first time in his high school career. He has played football since the eighth grade.
“We did not have a plan for him to get into the game, it just came up in the moment,” head coach Charles McFail said in an email.
AWESOME MOMENT: Smith-Cotton (@SCTigersHS) senior PJ Allred led the Tigers out onto the field against Hickman. Little did he know he would score an 80-yard touchdown as time expired. Great job by @KewpAthletics and Smith-Cotton to make this incredible moment possible! pic.twitter.com/Gk9d8NPBdW
— Andrew Kauffman (@AndrewABC17) September 21, 2019
Allred took the ball 80 yards to the house for Smith-Cotton’s lone score of the game. He dove into the end zone for the touchdown, and afterward, teammates and opponents alike celebrated with him.
At Smith-Cotton, Allred is part of all activities with the team.
“He has practiced everyday, lifted weights all summer, and attended summer 7-on-7 sessions and team camps,” McFail said. “He has been a full participant in the program.”
Allred has also played basketball, baseball, and soccer and participated in track and weightlifting through youth, junior high school and high school.
McFail has coached him for all four years in football and weightlifting, and was his baseball coach in junior high.
“He wants to be a great athlete like everyone else, his body will not let him have the physical success that he desires,” McFail said. “His heart and attitude, though, have set the gold level standard for all that he is involved with.”
