KEARNEY, Neb. — As the summer goes on, some of the moments from Saturday’s Nebraska Shrine Bowl game will fade from the players’ memories. But the South Team will never forget its co-captain.

Eight-year-old Emberlyn Hemmer has Caudal Regression Syndrome and had her legs amputated when she was a year old. The Lincoln resident doesn’t let her condition stop her from anything.

“On Monday, I did a push up contest with them, his name is Ezra and he’s on the south side team,” Emmy said.

Thanks to care from Shriners Children’s, Emberlyn became the first person with her specific condition to walk with the help of prosthetics. Earlier this year, she finished the Lincoln Half-Marathon in her wheelchair.

It’s no surprise she fit right in with the all-star football players.

“She’s a little firecracker," Carson Kudlacek of Hastings St. Cecilia said. "You look at her and you’re like, ‘dang, I really feel bad for the situation she got put in.’ She doesn’t act like she’s anybody different. She’s just as normal as everybody and it’s really cool to see that she takes it that way.”

“She’s awesome, she’s really high energy, she mixes in with the guys really well, she gives us a bunch of spirit and a bunch of energy," Jared Kuhl of Platteview said. "She’s really cool to be around.”

South Head Coach Mark McLaughlin of Platteview says Emberlyn is the personification of the meaning behind the Shrine Bowl game.

“If that doesn’t make you a believer in what the Shrine does - what the Shriners Hospital for Children does, I don’t know what will,” McLaughlin said. “She’s a sweetheart. Her constant positivity is contagious among everyone she’s around. Our kids have embraced that, she’s embraced us.”

At an earlier meeting, Emberlyn’s mom, Joanie, said her daughter, despite her amputation, had always wanted purple shoes. The night before the game, the team presenter her with autographed purple cleats.

“She’s a special kid that deserves all the love that she can get," McLaughlin said. "If she wants a pair of purple shoes, she’s going to have them.”

The admiration goes both ways.

“He’s been doing an awesome job coaching the kids so that way they can win,” Emmy said.

Joanie says the team, coaches, and her daughter formed a special connection.

“It’s been phenomenal, it’s been amazing, it’s been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. These boys have been great. They are here for the cause,” Joanie said.