Play call of the week: Bomb to Steilacoom player with autism results in emotional 50-yard TD | Tacoma News Tribune

STEILACOOM 62,

CLOVER PARK 6

Play: Daytona

Set: Doubles

Down and distance: First-and-10

Time remaining: Third quarter

Score at the time: Steilacoom 41, Clover Park 6

What happened: Steilacoom’s Aaron Smith had not played an offensive snap all season. He was diagnosed with autism when he was 2, and doctors had told his mother he would never be able to talk. Instead, he was put into the game on Friday against Clover Park and coach Rich Lane called his number, asking Smith to run a streak alongside Marques Hampton Jr. “As the ball went up there were two concerns: Being overthrown and the safety over the top,” Steilacoom assistant coach Kyle Haller said. “Somehow Aaron was able to turn on the jets and almost simultaneously, the safety fell.” It also took a block from Hampton to help spring Smith loose for an emotional touchdown that resulted in the crowd chanting his name.

Online video: Watch the highlight at thenewstribune.com