Sunday, August 4, 2013

5 year-old cancer survivor scores touchdown with Browns on Family Night

The Cleveland Browns held their "Family Night" during practice at FirstEnergy Stadium Saturday and capped off the evening with Ryan Encinas, a 5-year-old cancer survivor, taking a hand-off from quarterback Brandon Weeden and running 50-yards for a touchdown with Trent Richardson leading the way.



With a few tons of blockers ahead and the weight of cancer treatment behind him, the tough five-year-old — wearing an over-sized Browns helmet and a No.1 with the name "Encinas" on the back of his jersey —clutched the football and ran for the goal line in front of a crowd of 24,134 fans cheering every emotional step.


From his parents view:



The youngster got caught up in the the excitement of the moment, and lost in the canyons of 300-pound linemen,  and prematurely spiked the ball around the 30-yard line before head coach Rob Chudzinski picked up the loose ball and handed it back to his little running back.

As Ryan crossed the goal line, he was lifted onto the shoulders of linebacker Craig Robertson and congratulated by the entire team in the end zone.

“That was cool,” Weeden said. “When Chud told us we were going to do that in team meetings, I was pumped about it. That was a cool deal. The kid is 5-years-old and he's been through a lot. I do a lot of stuff back home with Children's Hospital, so every time something like that happens, it brings a lump to your throat.”

Good play call, guys.

[Browns.com]

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