PLATTSMOUTH, Neb. —

Ask anyone who knows Dale Thornton what his lifelong dream is, and they'll know the answer.

"Since the moment I met Dale, he told me: 'I love football. I'm going to be on the football team. I'm going to play for the Huskers and be Patrick Mahomes,'" his teacher, Sara Baio, said.

"Every single day, I think he told me that, 'I want to play football, I want to play football, I want to get out there,'" Plattsmouth football head coach Curtis Larsen said.

Last week, Thornton made that dream a reality in scoring his first touchdown for the Plattsmouth Blue Devils.

A senior at Plattsmouth, Thornton, who has autism, has been the team manager for two years. He's best known for his energy on the sidelines and hyping up the crowd on gamedays. Day in and day out, he practices

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