Notice: Significant thought was given to how best to tell this story. Certainly don't aim to endorse the behavior but believe this is a tale that Jacob will hear told many times as he gets older.
I may be corrected on this, but I don't think Jacob's football team had a non-rushing TD all season going into the final game (but not for lack of trying). I can picture an extra point conversion in week 1 with a pass from Brooks to Carter. (We were in disbelief when it actually worked as designed!) Throughout the year, it appeared we tried more passing plays than our opponents week to week and that fact was confirmed by the head of the league late in the year. Robert would tell you we had no other choice but to pass as the running game often stalled! (We were rarely the quickest team on the field!) Most coaches offensive philosophy seemed to be that if you hand it off 10 times, one play is bound to open up due to a missed assignment or an inability to grab flags. With a few kids capable of passing and catching, our team tried its best to keep the defense honest and passed the ball (or attempted to) 40%-50% of the time.
Before I go on, let me mention that at the coaches meeting before the first practice of the season I have a vague memory of being told that we were to discourage celebrations after big plays and scores. At that point, Robert and I were far more concerned with our kids actually scoring a TD than what they'd do after getting one, so the message probably fell on deaf ears. I can honestly say we preached sportsmanship (picking up an opponent's flag, giving a helping hand to a player down on the field, no gloating etc.) However, I have no recollection of telling the kids not to celebrate a big play. Through the first 7 games, it never appeared to be an issue. We had several different kids score TDs and none of them seemed to do more than high-five their teammates and/or hug a friend/coach.
Back to the final game...the defense was struggling against one of the better teams we'd played but certainly not the best opponent we'd lined up against. Jacob's friend Carter had made several key flag-grabs that prevented a bigger hole. The opponent was up 2 TDs to none in the 3rd quarter (we're not suppose to keep score but every brain on the field knows the score), and we had zero momentum as our offense was struggling to move the ball. After a couple plays that yielded a few yards each, Brooks (Jacob's close friend, Robert's son) lined up at QB while Jacob was out wide with a couple other kids at the receiver position. Brooks took the snap, rolled right to avoid the blitzer and threw towards Jacob (about a 7-yard pass probably). It was a well-thrown ball by Brooks (accurate with good pace). The only problem was that Jacob was pretty well covered by a defender. Somehow, the ball got by/through the defender, Jacob caught it in traffic, turned and ran up the sideline for a TD. There was a defender right behind him the entire way (20 yards). I'm still not sure how he didn't get one of Jacob's flags (although the same thought came to mind several times throughout the season when our kids were on defense). We were all pumped. The passing TD got us back into the game and I was excited knowing our team had finally converted a passing TD as we'd tried so many times. Knowing it was nearly time to play defense, I took my eye off of Jacob to see the next line-up and lost him amidst the celebration in the end zone.
After the extra point attempt, I was approached by the opposing coach. He didn't appear pleased. He informed me that I needed to remind our players about sportsmanship. I gave him a puzzled look as I hadn't observed anything I'd deem inappropriate. In fact, Robert and I were always proud of our kids' sportsmanship. I asked, "what happened?". He replied, "Number 7 (Jacob) spiked the ball after he scored." I nodded and told him we'd address it. (Admittedly, I was snickering a bit on the inside as this was the first I was hearing of it.)
As it turns out, Jacob went all NFL with his TD celebration. According to my father-in-law, "it was a great spike." (I'm picturing Walter Payton back in the day.) He certainly didn't taunt the other team and was only doing what he sees on TV each week. Bottom line: he was having fun. Arguably, the fun he should have as a 6-year-old when scoring a TD. (I'm just glad he didn't pull a sharpie out of his sock or do a Lambeau-leap into the parents section.) However, we had to tell him that league rules don't encourage such things, and it has muted some of the enjoyment of the moment as he hates to consider that he did something wrong. Tactfully, I keep reminding him of the sweet catch and run that he had.
I only wish it was captured on video!
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