- November 27, 2024
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Sportsmanship wins in the 10-and-under football game between the Ormond Beach Pride and the Tampa Unity Vikings.
The Ormond Beach Pride, of the American Youth Football League, swept the Tampa Unity Vikings in all of their games Saturday, Sept. 20. But the most dramatic touchdown of the day occurred after the last whistle of the 10-and-under team.
After Isaiah Sutton scored a touchdown to clinch the Pride’s 7-0 win, quarterback Christian Koch, 10, handed the ball off to his older brother, Daniel Koch, 16, who is bound to a wheelchair, and he took the ball 50 yards for a touchdown.
“It was great,” Daniel Koch said. “I felt like Peyton Manning.”
“I was really happy that my brother scored his first touchdown,” Christian Koch said. “I was happy that they did that for him.”
Daniel Koch has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a lethal genetic disease, according to his mother, Karen Koch.
“It pretty much takes the muscle from the boys, which eventually gets to their heart muscle, which ends up taking their lives,” she said. “It’s not a good thing, but these are the little moments that make his life as enjoyable as possible, and we just enjoy him while we have him.”
On seeing her son score his first touchdown, she said, “The Pride has given him a jersey with the number 18 like his favorite player, Peyton Manning. They allow him to lead the team out on the field and be on the sidelines with the players; they treat him like he is a part of the team, which is pretty cool for him. We were all yelling, as he took the ball down the field. I just can’t put it into words.”
As Christian carried the ball down the field, the Tampa players dove toward him to make the touchdown seem as realistic as possible.
“Give the Vikings a ton of credit,” Brian Colubiale, the Ormond Beach Pride director, said. “When I presented the idea to them, they didn’t give it any thought. It was an automatic yes. They’re a very classy organization.”
To see the touchdown, click on the link.
