214@100: The day Billy Anderson made the tackle

In November 2000, life threw a little good fortune Billy Anderson's way.

In the midst of a Friday night football game between the Rolling Meadows Mustangs and the Wheeling Wildcats, a Wheeling player scooped up the ball and ran with it.

His momentum carried him toward the Mustang sideline, where Billy, wearing #86, tackled the ball carrier - and then came up with the ball.

Billy, who every game ran onto the field with the others and stood on the sidelines, has Down syndrome and didn't really play. Which made the tackle especially memorable.

"We say Billy tackled him. We put it in the charts," then-Rolling Meadows Coach Doug Millsaps said at the time. "He wrapped him up and took him down. I don't know whether he planned it or not."

When Billy was ready to start high school, his family made the decision to enroll him at Rolling Meadows, where he could attend classes with kids from his neighborhood. It's a decision they have never regretted. Today, at 35, Billy volunteers at RMHS every day as a custodial helper.

"In a time when test scores seem to be how schools are judged, we feel that RMHS rises above these scores in the things that matter - kindness, compassion and acceptance of others," his mom, Lori Anderson, wrote the Daily Herald last month.

During one memorable homecoming, her son was chosen by the Homecoming Committee to deliver the game football via helicopter.

"It was truly one of our most emotional, happy moments," she added. "To have our son be so accepted and loved by the RMHS community erased all of my fears."