Touchdown Tommy: Vandegrift manager makes special memory on senior night

Photo Credit: Scott W. Coleman.

When Vandegrift took the field at Monroe Stadium on Friday night, the entire crowd was chanting one name: Tommy Hartman. 

Hartman has been the Vipers’ team manager for the last four years. But on senior night, on the first play of the game, he rushed for a 49-yard touchdown, a special moment for someone who has meant so much to the Vandegrift community. 

“Tonight’s been great,” Hartman said. “Coach decided to put me in to run for a touchdown. Vandegrift is a really good football program, one of the best in the state of Texas. It’s been great.”

Since he has autism, contact sports weren’t always a possibility, but he still wanted to be as involved as possible with the sport he loves most.

The Vandegrift coaching staff thought about what they could do to recognize Hartman and make him feel special. Vandegrift head coach Drew Sanders asked him about suiting up for his first high school game over the summer, and he jumped at the chance. 

“He pumps me up, and he reminds me to keep perspective,” Sanders said. “All head coaches can be very serious about results, but he reminds me all the time that there are more important things than winning a football game.”

“Tommy is very special to us, he always has been.”

Before his big run on Friday, Hartman got a shout out from NFL players Quandre Diggs, Darius Slay and Jamal Agnew on social media, who at one time played for his favorite NFL team, the Detroit Lions. 

The entire school knows and loves Hartman. 

He’s been an important part of the school culture at Vandegrift, helping out as a manager for the basketball team in addition to his football duties.

He was named homecoming king at halftime of the Cedar Ridge game a couple of weeks ago. 

After he scored on Friday, Hartman and the team celebrated by doing the Macarena in the end zone before swimming back to the sideline.

The Vipers extended their district winning streak to 21 games with a win over Hutto on Friday night. And a win against Round Rock next Friday would clinch the third straight district title for the school. 

Sanders said Hartman has absolutely played a role in the Vipers’ recent on-field success. 

“This is a really together team,” Sanders said. “They really care about each other. Watch their reaction when Tommy does something or really anything good happens. That’s what love looks like.”

Hartman isn’t afraid to say what’s on his mind. Sanders said he likes to tell everybody what to eat, and he knows the weather in every county and directions to just about every stadium in Texas. 

“Coach Sanders is a really good coach,” Hartman said. “I’m friends with his son, and he’s cool. That’s why I love coach Sanders. He’s probably going to get coach of the year for the third year in a row.”

On the field after every Vandegrfit win, the coaches go one by one and address the players before they head to the locker room. Hartman always lets the team know where they are in the district standings and who comes next on the schedule.

On Friday, he was one of the last players in uniform on the field after doing a few post-game interviews. He wanted to get back with the team so he wouldn’t miss the traditional dance party in the locker room after a win. 

Friday’s locker room celebration was probably a dance party Hartman will never forget. 

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Originally published at https://www.hillcountrynews.com/stories/touchdown-tommy-vandegrift-manager-makes-special-memory-on-senior-night,83515?