Touchdown, Matt! Wheelchair-Bound Westford Boy Scores in Game

With a smile as wide as the football tucked under his arm, little Matthew Davidopoulos streaked through the end zone then high-fived teammates to celebrate his 50-yard score.

Matthew, 6, is bound to a wheelchair after being diagnosed with an untreatable form of spinal muscular atrophy.

When his brother started playing football for the Westford Junior Ghosts, Matthew wondered why he couldn’t play, according to his mother.

“We knew football was something that would just be impossible,” said Courtney Davidopoulos.

But the team organized a special play for him Sunday.

Matthew grabbed a handoff from his brother, Noah, at midfield and motored down the field for a touchdown.

The boy was ecstatic.

“That was awesome!” Matthew told his mother after. “The team is so happy.”

Courtney Davidopoulos said she was proud of both her sons.

“It was something they were able to achieve together,” she said.

She said Matthew doesn’t let his condition define him. Doctors initially told her he likely wouldn’t live past the age of 2.

“He loves life,” she said. ”He is the happiest kid you will meet, always looking for new adventures.”

Matthew just started the first grade and he plans to take up another sport—power soccer, which he can play independently.

The Davidopoulos family moved to Westford two years ago.

“The community has really embraced our entire family and supported us in so many ways,” she said.

After the game, a fundraiser for Matthew was held at the Westford Ninety Nine restaurant.

A GoFundMe page for Matthew has also been set up.