High school team manager with autism gets special moment on field

FOX 7 Austin High School Football: Hutto vs Vandegrft - 11/13/20

John Hygh has highlights of the game and more on a special moment on the field for the Vipers team manager Tommy Hartman.

LEANDER, Texas - It was a very special moment on the field on November 13 when the Hutto Hippos took on the Vandegrift Vipers in Leander.

Senior Tommy Hartman, who has autism, has been the Vandegrift football team's team manager his entire time in high school. Vandegrift head football coach Drew Sanders says in a post on Facebook that Hartman loves football and that the manager role was "perfect for him and he's excelled at it."

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Sanders says it wasn't possible for Hartman to play contact sports but he still wanted to be as close to the action as he could.

At the start of the year, Sanders offered Hartman an opportunity to score a touchdown in a varsity football game and Sanders says Hartman was "thrilled" at the idea.

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So Sanders reached out to Hutto head football coach Brad LaPlante to have the special moment happen at the game between their two schools and LaPlante agreed.

Hartman suited up for the first time in high school and after opening kickoff he got the ball in Vandegrift's first offensive possession of the game and scored a 49-yard touchdown. He cruised into the end zone surrounded by his teammates and even celebrated a little.

The touchdown ultimately didn't count towards the team's score but Vandegrift went on to beat Hutto 38-6.