Remarkable return to the gridiron, capped with a TD

Sportsbeat by Peter Jakey

It was the fourth quarter of Posen?s home opener against Michigan School for the Deaf — a night filled with offensive highlights. The Vikings added to a 46-0 halftime lead with a spectacular 73-yard run touchdown run by senior Shane Hentkowski, which was easily the longest of the night, but not the one that had everyone talking at the end of the night.

In the fourth quarter, Erica Thomas was a little surprised when her son, Dustin, a junior this fall at Posen High School, was lined up in the backfield, and was even more surprised when the coaching staff called his number. ?They are giving my kid the ball,? Erica could be heard saying on the recording of the game, as they replayed it Tuesday on their DVD player. Thomas took the handoff from sophomore quarterback Lucas Litwinski, found a hole on the right side, hop skipped a defender and broke to the outside.

With freshman Nick Hincka as a blocking escort, Thomas went the distance with a tackler nipping his heels at the goal line, but he was too late. ?I would have never thought I was going to get a touchdown,? said Dustin. ?It was such an energy rush.? Teammates mobbed him in the back of the end zone, and every player and coach wanted to congratulate the young man, who went through so much to return to the football field. It was his first regular season game in two years. MORE THAN a year ago, he couldn?t get out of bed, let alone walk or score touchdowns. He was diagnosed with psoriatic (sore-ee-atic) rheumatoid arthritis. ?Your joints have fluids in them and it causes them to lock up,? said Dustin.

?Pretty much every joint had fluid in it,? said Erica. ?His knees were

the worse.? ?It was at a point where it hurt to sit up in my bed,? said Dustin. ?He has a lot of tolerance for pain, so for him to complain about pain and not be able to move, was unreal,? added Erica, who was laid off and didn?t pursue any other jobs, to be home to help her son. Dustin couldn?t play football in 2009, yet was the supportive teammate, never missing a practice and videotaping all the regular season games. While there is no cure, the disease is treatable with a costly specialty drug. With a co-pay, it?s still costing Dustin?s parents, $4,500 a year. His father, Leonard, is a Great Lakes sailor.

?It?s worth it,? said Erica. AS DUSTIN?S condition improved, he continued to hope nothing would get in the way of his return. During the summer, he would ride his bike three-and-a-half miles to the school to lift weights and was at nearly every session. ?My mom drove me in a couple of times,? said Dustin. ?He did everything he could to make sure he could play,? said Erica. Head coach Wayne Karsten said putting Thomas in at tailback, and giving him a chance to run the ball, was a reward for all the hard work the young man has put in, and a way for him to share in some of the glory of scoring. Dustin was finding victory in just being on the field. Winning the game and scoring a touchdown, made the night even better.