MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A man accused of sneaking into a classroom at St. Thomas Aquinas High School to steal a teacher’s purse was tackled by football players and coaches, including Dolphin great Jason Taylor.

Police said 27-year-old Kendrick Freeman entered school grounds on Thursday, found an empty classroom and took a teacher’s purse.

He is being charged with burglary, petit theft and trespassing on school grounds.

Freeman ran out of the classroom and headed to the open field, was spotted by the football team and eventually tackled and held until police got there.

“The football team was able to tackle him. I heard Jason Taylor went after him,” said Molly Jones.

“The football team stopped a guy stealing a purse,” said a student.

Another student said, “Yeah, it was impressive. I am glad they caught the guy.”

On Friday, a Broward judge ordered Freeman held on a $9,500 bond.

Freeman has an extensive criminal record.

The coaches and Jason Taylor did not want to talk about it. The players were busy with their homecoming game, but a student summed it up best:

“It just shows that our football team is awesome. The coaches are not just teaching us to play football. They are teaching us how to be an everyday person and respect the community and do the right thing,” Thoms Gorecki said.

The school is located in the 2800 block of SW 12th Street in Fort Lauderdale.