Jim Fair
Ross Jeffeaux, blue jersey number 10, holds the game ball given to him by his teammates. He scored on the final play of the scrimmage.
Jim Fair
Ross Jeffeaux, blue uniform, breaks through the line of scrimmage.
Jim Fair
Ross Jeffeaux is in a race for the end zone on the final play of Riverside's spring scrimmage.
Riverside’s football scrimmage went down to the final play of the evening Friday.
As Ross Jeffeaux was inserted into the game, and his name announced, the large crowd of students cheered.
Jeffeaux took the handoff, broke through the line of scrimmage and scampered 75 yards, breaking tackles and slipping the grasps of Riverside’s defenders to score the final points of the scrimmage.
As Jeffeaux crossed the goal line, his teammates congratulated the graduating senior. Jeffeaux held tightly onto the game ball that was given to him by his teammates.
Riverside Head Coach Phil Smith said Jeffeaux’s play was designed by his teammates.
“(Ross) has been with me since I got here,” Smith said. “I’ve always had a love for special needs kids and Ross really wanted to be a part and worked his tail off in helping in any capacity he could help.
“All the kids, just the whole school embraces Ross and loves him to death. It’s his last year, and as a matter of fact he told me on the sidelines, ‘Coach, this is my last spring.’ I said Ross don’t tell me that.
“This came from the kids. They came to me and said, ‘Hey coach, we really want to do this and will you think about it?’
“From a liability standpoint, you always have to worry about stuff and also thought, what the heck, let’s do it. That was the highlight of his career here and he wants to be a part of everything these kids do and we wanted to give him the opportunity to do that.”