Not-So-Meaningless TD

The scoreboard read 41-13, but everyone – the players, the coaches, the fans – was a winner at Friday’s Bridgeport homecoming football game.

Bridgeport High School junior William Howe scored a touchdown in the final moments of homecoming against Frankenmuth. Howe has a debilitating form of autism, comparable to the Dustin Hoffman character’s ailment in “Rain Man.” He’s worked out with the team all season, suited up for every game, and saw action on a kickoff earlier in the season.

Bridgeport coach John Lagalo says Howe “lives and breathes Bridgeport football.”

But, back to what shapes up as the best call from the sidelines all season.

With Bridgeport down 41-7 late in the game, the Bearcats were in the red zone. Lagalo put Howe in at receiver. He dropped a pass. Lagalo’s counterpart across the field, Frankenmuth coach Roger Bearss, suggested Lagalo have Hall run the ball.

Bridgeport took the snap. Quarterback Greg Bryce handed it to Howe and escorted him into the end zone as both teams participated in a class act.

It’s a moment Howe and fans will remember. Lagalo called the smile on the teen’s face and the moment “magical.”
“It’s everything that high school sports is meant to be,” Lagalo said. “We’re glad we got to be part of it.”

Wins are nice. Losses are part of the game.

But few lessons can compare to the one imparted as Bridgeport’s William Howe strolled across the goal line.

— Saginaw News editorial submitted by Frankenmuth Superintendent Michael Murphy

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Although the Frankenmuth Eagles won the Bridgeport Bearcats’ homecoming game, 41-13, and clinched and MHSAA playoff berth, fans from both schools will remember what happened at the end of the contest.

Bearcat gridder William Howe, a mentally impaired teenager, score from 10 yards out with 51 seconds left in the game. FHS coach Roger Bearss and his team helped orchestrate the score.

“The officials came to me before the game and told me that this young man may get some playing time near the end of the game,” Bearss said of Howe, a wide receiver who wears No. 88.

The Eagles owned a 34-0 halftime lead and led 41-7 with six minutes left to play.

The junior entered the game at the wide receiver position. When Bearss and staff noticed they weren’t able to work the ball over to him, Bearss suggested to the Bearcat staff, through the radios and officials, that they line up Howe in the backfield.

“Our kids recognized the situation and I’m really proud of them. They were very classy, the way they cheered him on,” Bearss said.

Bridgeport quarterback Greg Bryce accompanied Howe into the end zone while the Eagles “attempted” to tackle him. Bryce and teammates then celebrated the touchdown with Howe.

Frankenmuth’s defense was in total agreement in making the special moment happen; the Eagle D had not allowed a fourth quarter touchdown all season.

— Frankenmuth News story submitted by Frankenmuth resident Angela Petroskey