Brighten Your Day

High school student Trent Bauer goes from mascot to star quarterback

January 3, 2013

It's not every day a team mascot becomes the star player. That's exactly what happened at Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School in Lexington, Kentucky.

Trent Bauer was on the sidelines at every football, not as a player, but dressed as a bulldog, the team's mascot. He hadn't played football since he was 10 years-old. Out of the blue he decided he wanted to give football another try and asked the coach if he could join the squad.

"I didn't know he was the mascot. If I had known, I probably wouldn't have stuck him in," Coach Derrick Thomas told ABC News. "It's like a movie script, couldn't write it any better."

Bauer got to play in his first game against the school's biggest rival and played his butt off. He scored 2 touchdowns in the 4th quarter alone including a 50 yard bomb with only seconds left on the clock. His performance earned him the starting quarterback job for the rest of the season.

"My dad kept calling me a baby for not playing," Bauer explained to reporters. "Now, he says I can't believe it. I'm proud of you."

The video below includes actual footage from the big game!