ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — His team trailing 46-0, Matt Ziesel scored a touchdown.

A single play, one of thousands across high school fields this fall and meaningless to the final score, brought tears of joy to fans in a Missouri stadium and went viral on the Internet.

No one who entered Maryville's stadium that night expected a moment like this.

Not Ziesel, the freshman football player with Down Syndrome who wanted nothing more than to feel the camaraderie of winning and losing with his team. Not his parents, who never expected him to get into a game, nor the teammates who treated him no different from the rest. Certainly not the opposing coach and players who graciously went along with a coach's idea to give Matt a moment of glory.

Together, unsuspectingly, they collaborated in a single powerful moment, proving civility isn't an outdated notion and still has a place amid the chest-thumping multimillion-dollar athletes and the win-at-all-costs mentality permeating every level of sports.

"It shows that there's still compassion out there, that there's good people out there," said Don McCamy, the Benton High School freshman coach who gave Matt his chance.

"It's something that shows life is still worth living and things are still good."

Matt has always been a competitor. He barely survived a premature birth and nearly died from pneumonia as a toddler. He had a coach for a father and an older sister — among his four siblings — who wouldn't let him win just because he's disabled, fueling an innate competitive spirit.

Naturally, sports held sway at an early age. It had Matt mocking his father's animated coaching style on the basketball court, tracking Royals baseball and Missouri football, and yelling "Come on Chiefs!" at the TV when his favorite team was down. He didn't always understand what was going on, but he wanted a piece of it.

Special Olympics were fine. Matt enjoyed the competition, the friendships. It just wasn't enough. He wanted more. He wanted to play football team.

Not a good idea, his doctor said. It was too risky.

Matt wasn't listening. Determined to wear the Benton High red and white, he was willing to sacrifice like all the other players to get it. Offseason workouts, weightlifting sessions, two-a-days? He didn't miss one.

How does a parent say no to determination like that?

"You have to realize that while kids with special needs might be a little different than you and I, they all have the same goals, they want to be successful in life, they want to contribute to their teammates and classmates, be a part of something as much as anybody else," said Matt's father, Mike Ziesel, also the athletic director at Benson High.