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Last updated on Tuesday, October 16, 2018
(INDIANAPOLIS) - It was impossible to walk out of the Colts’ complex on West 56th Street on Saturday evening without a smile on your face.
Mitch Bonar certainly did. The 22-year-old walked around the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center for the Indiana High School Athletic Association's inaugural Unified flag football state finals like a proud papa. Bonar, who was born with cerebral palsy, visited then-Noblesville athletic director Michael Hasch's office six years ago as a sophomore with an idea.
"I was looking at the ground saying, 'How are you, sir?'" Bonar remembers the conversation with Hasch. "'Can we do Unified sports?' My mom said I needed permission to go in his office, but I just did it anyway."
It took off from there -- and so did Bonar's confidence. He was the captain of Noblesville's Unified track and field team, which began competing in 2013-14 when the IHSAA partnered with Special Olympics Indiana to form "Champions Together." The number of schools competing in Unified track ballooned from 13 the first year to 90 last spring.
Bonar is now on the board of directors for Special Olympics Indiana. That would not have happened without Unified sports."It built up my confidence and allowed me to connect with my peers," Bonar said. "I'm still friends with the people I ran track with in high school. It makes you feel included. It changed my life. Seeing it change these guys lives is incredible."
Bedford North Lawrence won the first Unified flag football championship with a 50-26 victory over Tippecanoe Valley. It was fitting in the Colts complex that starting quarterback for the first championship team -- Bedford North Lawrence senior Peyton Storms -- was named after Peyton Manning. "We were looking for a name when Peyton Manning came across the TV in the delivery room," his mother, Kelly Storms said.
Peyton joked that he could barely throw a pass when Bedford North Lawrence started practice before the season. "At our first practice, I said, 'OK, you are not going to play quarterback," Bedford North Lawrence coach Mike Branam said. "You would never know that now."
In Unified flag football, each team has five players on the field. There must be three "athletes" (students with disabilities) and two "partners" (students without disabilities) at any time. The idea is to create high expectations and opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities while teaching the general population students that their teammates can be valued members of their school and community.
It works. Jessica Thompson watched from the sideline as her son, freshman Andrew Thompson, a Pittsburgh Steelers fan with autism, played in the championship game.
"He has more friends now to stick up for him for the other side of the school that may not know him," Jessica said. "You can't always look at a kid and know he has autism. If you interact with him, you might think he is quirky. But now he has a lot of friends who will back him up. I absolutely love it because that is from sports and playing on this team."
Andrew's connection to the team was obvious when he came out late in the game with tears in his eyes and hugged coach Jeff Shriver. Shriver, a longtime football coach at Tippecanoe Valley had stepped out of coaching to follow his daughter, Shayleigh Shriver, play volleyball. But as Tippecanoe Valley hosted the volleyball sectional on Saturday, here he was coaching a different team.
"Our kids have learned a lot about life and a lot about football," said Shriver, whose team defeated Noblesville in the semifinal on Saturday. "One the mantras we used when I was coaching was, 'Valley family, Valley pride.' It couldn't be truer any time than what it was here. We had kids wanting to play for each other, not just themselves. That's one of the neatest things I've seen is how our team came together."
Or as Andrew said after the game, wearing his runner-up medal around his neck: "This is fun. Too much fun. I feel like I made the right decision to play. The best part is being around my teammates and getting along with them."
Those are the kind of words that make you feel good -- win, lose or draw. You could see it, too. After Bedford North Lawrence's Daniel Deckard caught a tipped pass in the end zone for a touchdown, he admitted to an official that he lost sight of the ball. "I was like, 'Where did that ball go?'" Deckard said. The official laughed. Or when Bedford North Lawrence, nursing a late lead, stepped aside and allowed Tippecanoe's Cheyenne Barngrover to score an uncontested touchdown to the cheers of both sides late in the game.
"I've heard principals say (Unified sports) can change the culture of the building," said Lee Lonzo, the director for Champions Together. "Kids like Mitch who used to sit in the back of the cafeteria with their head down at lunch are sitting with the football players and getting high-fives. That's the awesome thing about it."
Ben Davis was beaten in the semifinal by the Bedford North Lawrence. But five minutes after the game, all four teams were smiling together in a group photo. Brentton Wharton, a lightning-fast Ben Davis sophomore, was surrounded by his family -- parents, two older brothers, and grandfather -- after it was over. They were all smiles.
"He is the youngest of three boys so it was big for him to find his own place and own identity," Renee Wharton said. "But to me, as a mother, the biggest joy is to see how he cares for his teammates. The camaraderie they have is amazing to see."
How could this not take off in popularity? There were 25 schools in this year's inaugural sectional tournament. Expect that number to double, at least, next year.
"With our Unified sports, we want to invite as many schools to play as we can," IHSAA commissioner Bobby Cox said. "With these kinds of events, these schools are going to go home and talk to their neighboring schools about what a great experience they had. It is all about inclusion and creating a better culture. That's what this is for."
Bonar would have loved to participate in flag football, too. But he could watch on Saturday knowing he helped make a difference in creating opportunities for others."Honestly, watching them is probably more rewarding," he said.
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