ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Jacob Kohler says sports have changed his life.

The 18-year-old has Asperger's syndrome, which said made it difficult for him to cope as a freshman in high school.

He says he turned a corner when he started running cross country as a sophomore.

"I suffered from a lot of anxiety, I was barely in school, I couldn't get my work done, and sports really did change that for me," Kohler said.

Kohler wanted to move to football as a junior, but he only weighed 90 pounds. His father, who played defensive end for Orchard Park, said he had to gain weight in order to suit up.

"He said you've gotta be at least 5'3, 120. I got to 5'4, 125 within 6 months."

Kohler played varsity football last year, and is coming back for a fifth year in school.

After only participating in 3 years of athletics, Kohler's family believes he should be able to play, but the New York State Athletic Association has told him he's not eligible.

"They told us to go directly to the education commissioner. We have submitted an appeal to the education commissioner, but those appeals can take quite some time to be read, reviewed and acted upon, so at this point in time, we're coming down to crunch time, the season starts in a few days, Jake should be on the field and there's really no reason why he shouldn't be on the field."

I reached out to the Athletic Association on the initial decision, and they say it’s based on a State Department of Education regulation that says any student has 4 years of eligibility from the moment that they walk on campus.

Section VI Executive Director Timm Slade says the Athletic Association has no wiggle room with those guidelines, but says State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia does.

"The commissioner does allow an appeal or allow a waiver for students who, due to accident or illness, which causes them to attend school for an additional semester or year, i.e. 5th year student," said Slade.

With Orchard Park's first football game of the season coming up on Friday, State Senator Tim Kennedy is pushing for a quick appeals process for the Kohler family.

He sent a letter to Commissioner Elia, and started an online petition that already has more than 1,300 signatures.

"We believe in Jake, we believe in our community, and quite frankly, we believe that the state, with all of the resources at our disposal and with all of the facts in front of them, will make the determination that Jake should be able to play football with his teammates," Kennedy said.

If Kohler doesn't get approval, he said he'll continue to stand on the sidelines cheering on his teammates, but he's clamoring for one more season to play wide receiver.