By BAKER ELLIS / Sports Editor

As the huddle broke, and the Chelsea White sixth grade youth team trotted into position, No. 43 walked, gingerly at first, to his spot in the backfield. After some light direction and coaching, Gabe Griffin lined up, surveyed the defensive alignment from the running back position, and waited. His brother, Cooper Griffin, quarterback of the sixth grade Chelsea White team, barked the cadence, paused, and took the snap from his center. Gabe didn’t hesitate, his number had been called and he wanted the ball. He shot his arms up, approached his older brother, and took the handoff.

Then he was off.

 

This wasn’t Scott Griffin’s idea.

Scott Griffin, Gabe’s father, isn’t the type to make his youngest son the center of attention wherever his family goes. But when this opportunity presented itself, he felt how powerful the moment could be, and what it would mean to his family.

“I’m going to fight for Gabe, I’m going to do whatever I can for him, but I don’t believe Gabe needs to be the focal point of every athletic event,” Scott Griffin said on Sept. 9. “We have two Chelsea sixth grade teams, Chelsea White and Chelsea Blue. The coaches approached me a little while ago and said ‘Why don’t we let Gabe dress out in full gear and let him dress out with his brothers?’”

One game, his three sons, all on the field together.

“I got all choked up with the picture of that going through my mind,” Scott Griffin said. “I was teary eyed and got chills.”

Gabe has a rare type of muscular dystrophy called Duchenne. He is the face of the Gabe Griffin Right to Try Act, signed into law by Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley on June 3 of this year, allowing access to non-FDA approved drugs for terminally ill patients. Duchenne affects about one in 3,600 boys and is a terminal muscular disease that is caused by a lack of a protein called dystrophin, which is in part responsible for rebuilding muscles.

“When you walk or you run or your heart beats, your muscles break down,” Griffin explained. “He (Gabe) doesn’t have the protein to rebuild the muscles in his body.”

Currently, there is no cure for Duchenne, which usually results in death before age 20.

As a result, Gabe can’t play sports. Both of his brothers play quarterback, his oldest bother, Turner, is the quarterback of the ninth-grade team while Cooper, the middle brother, is the quarterback of the Chelsea White sixth grade team, while his twin sister, Addie, is a cheerleader. He’s spent his young life yearning, hoping to join his brothers, to be a part of a team. He got that opportunity on a Tuesday night in September, thanks to a team and a community that have drawn so much inspiration from the little red-headed boy with the gap-toothed smile.

 

 

Gabe took the handoff from his brother, and attacked the defense. He cut to his right, found a gap in the defense, and galloped downfield, heading for green grass. Leaving defenders strewn behind him on the ground, Gabe crossed the goal line and was mobbed by his teammates in the end zone, then his opponents joined in as well. As Gabe stood up, goaded by his teammates, he spiked the ball on the ground, to the raucous cheers of everyone.

Gabe, who maintains that every sport is his favorite sport, said he was a little nervous walking onto the field, with real pads and a real helmet.

“I was nervous I was going to get tackled,” Gabe said. “But my dad said I’d be OK, that I had big blockers in front of me.”

Gabe said the only thing he was thinking when the ball was placed in his hands was that he had to score. He knew he had to score. The spike? Planned.

“I planned it (the spike),” Gabe said. He even threw in a whip for good measure as well.

“It was emotional beyond words,” Scott Griffin said. “For him to go out there with his brothers as captains and score a touchdown. It was an absolutely incredible event, one that I will continue to relive in my mind.”

Moving forward, the Griffins will continue to hope and work toward getting the drugs they need to eradicate Duchenne. While that is the ultimate goal, moments like this are vital as well.

“We’re just trying to do everything we possibly can to give him a normal childhood,” Scott said. “One of his dreams was to play football. But the announcer said it best. The next dream is a cure.”