The NFL needs a lesson from the players of both high school teams.
It was much more than just a midseason high school football game Friday night between South Lyon East and Novi.
In fact, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Robby Heil of Novi, who got the chance to see what it was like to be a running back in front of hundreds of fans, getting a carry in the first half of Novi’s 42-14 win.
Heil, a special-needs senior who has Down syndrome, has been the longtime Novi water boy, wearing his No. 24 jersey while handling his job.
Novi head coach Jeff Burnside talked with South Lyon East coach Joe Pesci earlier this month, working on plans for Heil to carry the ball on an untimed down.
And, Heil got that carry with just under 11 minutes left in the half in a 7-7 tie, running right and scoring on a 36-yard run. The play didn’t count on the scoreboard, but it certainly did in the hearts and minds of the fans, teammates, opponents and his mother, Debbie Heil, who has been battling cancer.
Players from both teams mobbed Heil in the end zone after he spiked the ball, then huddled around him in celebration. Then, they all took a knee while Pesci presented him with a No. 1 South Lyon East jersey autographed by the players while his mother looked on in tears.
“It’s incredible,” Debbie Heil said. “Coach Burnside wanted to make this happen and he was able to talk with the South Lyon East coach and make this happen. To have an opponent come together and make this play happen, make him feel he’s No. 1 on the team. I mean, did you see South Lyon East stand up and have banners of No. 24.
“Then, he was presented a jersey from South Lyon East and all the players signed it. He feels he’s a part of the football team. He knows he’s very important bringing them water and the boys love him. They’re the first ones to give him hugs and he’ll tell the players to calm down when they get down on themselves.”
Debbie has been one of the team photographers the past four years so she can keep an eye on Robby. She didn’t know Robby would be carrying the ball until his older brother Charles came home from Michigan State Thursday night to tell her.
