Two Texas teens with Down syndrome had the night of their lives last Friday, when the best friends were named honorary team captains for their high school football team.
Local news outlet WFAA reports Blake Pyron and Austin Waters, incoming seniors at Sanger High School in Denton County, Texas, have long supported the school football team, often fetching water for players. Last year, the two led the players out of the tunnel before every game.
As a thank-you for their continued support, both became members of the team at an assembly last Friday, complete with their own team jerseys. And to say they were excited would be an understatement.
"It was awesome. ...They had a smile as big as Texas," team coach Chuck Galbreath told WFAA. Added senior defensive end Collin Jones: "It humbled me, is what it did."
Might Blake and Austin eventually take a page from the playbook and go for a touchdown? It happened last year at a high school in Wisconsin, when Noah VanVooren, a senior with Down syndrome, was invited onto the football field for the first time -- and ran the ball into the end zone for a touchdown.
Watch Blake and Austin join their team, above.