Acton-Boxboro Pop Warner Squad Helps Create Magical Moment -- For Andrew and Kid Sports

The play drawn up for Andrew Martire in the Acton Pop Warner game was simple enough: The quarterback would stick the football in Andrew’s gut and Andrew would run the length of the field like a deer.

The results: Perfection — sort of.

Oh, the play worked just as designed, with little 8-year-old Andrew making the biggest play of the game for his team, Lowell. But the truly perfect part was his grin, the one that went from ear to ear as his teammates, his coaches and his fans at the field yelled, “Run, Andrew! Run!”

Sixty-five yards later: Touchdown, No. 61, Andrew Martire!

That’s a special moment for any little boy, but probably even more so for a boy with autism — and Andrew is autistic — and it has to mean more to a mother of a challenged little boy, like Andrew’s mother, Jessica Martire.

“He was so happy,” she said later. “It was magical ... I was in tears. Everyone was in tears.”

A parent captured a video of the moment:

Andrew’s smile lasted long after the touchdown play.

“He came up to me and said, ‘Did you see me, Mommy? Did you see me?’” Jessica said. “I said, ‘Yes, I did!’”

Now, that is perfection.

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This is Andrew’s first year of football. He has worked hard, practicing with the team since August.

“He deserved it,” said Pat Fuller, acting president of Lowell Pop Warner.

Fuller said it was incredible to see the support of his teammates.

“Usually every kid who is 8-, 9-, and 10-year-olds want to be the one to score a touchdown,” Fuller said. They stepped aside for him.”

If the play wasn’t the best in the history of Pop Warner football, it was definitely tied for No. 1.

Andrew’s mother said her son is still talking about his touchdown.

“He will remember this moment forever,” she said.

Photo: Andrew Martire (#61) celebrates his touchdown run. (Credit: Courtesy)