By Rubin E. Grant
Mountain Brook football coach Chris Yeager calls junior receiver Clark Sanderson one of the most fearless players he’s ever been around.
To illustrate his point, Yeager pointed to a daring play Sanderson made on a punt return against James Clemens early in the third quarter of the Spartans’ second game of the season.
The Jets’ punter dropped the snap and barely got off a punt that didn’t travel far. Sanderson yelled, “Peter, Peter,” the signal for teammates to get out of the way of the bouncing ball. But Sanderson noticed the James Clemens players also peeled off and alertly fielded the ball and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown.
“He’s so quick on his feet when it comes to thinking about what he needs to do,” Yeager said.
“I just wanted to make a play,” Sanderson said. “I saw a bunch of grass and no one around the ball. My mind was racing. I couldn’t think. I just picked it up and ran.”
Sanderson’s derring-do allowed the Spartans to pull away for a 42-21 victory.
At the midway point of the season, Sanderson is the Spartans’ second-leading receiver with 13 receptions for 278 yards, an average of 21.4 yards per catch, and two touchdowns.
“We knew he was going to be a great football player,” Yeager said. “His dad, Craig Sanderson, played at Alabama (1988-90) and he’s just like his old man, making some plays.”
A Father’s Misgivings
Craig Sanderson was an All-State wide receiver at Hamilton High School before going to Alabama. At Alabama, he became best friends with running back Kevin Turner. But when Turner died in 2016 after an excruciating battle with ALS – Craig Sanderson was one of Turner’s caretakers – the elder Sanderson had some trepidation about letting Clark play football.
It was discovered that Turner had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive brain condition that’s thought to be caused by repeated blows to the head and repeated episodes of concussion.
Despite his misgivings, Craig Sanderson eventually allowed Clark to play.
“I think we made a deal to let me play when I got to the sixth grade,” Clark Sanderson said. “My mom (Julie) didn’t want me to play, but my dad was able to convince her to let me. Playing tackle football looked really fun. I had played flag football and it wasn’t that much fun.”
Craig Sanderson is an interested spectator on game nights. “He just loves watching me play,” Clark Sanderson said. “He never misses a game.”
Even so, Craig Sanderson still has some reservations about his decision to let Clark play.
“I can’t say I’m completely convinced about him playing,” Craig Sanderson said. “I got to see some of the things that CTE does to a person, so we didn’t let him play until he was 12. I wanted him to play and have some experience before junior high because in junior high is when it gets real and players are bigger and stronger.
“After we allowed him to play in the sixth grade, I left it up to him if he wanted to continue. I’m getting more comfortable with it. They’re wearing the graduated helmet pads and they’re not hitting as much during practice, but it’s still a tough choice.”
Chip off the Block
What wasn’t a tough choice was Clark Sanderson becoming a receiver like his dad.
“I don’t think he steered me to play receiver, but I always looked up to him,” Clark Sanderson said.
Craig Sanderson said it’s uncanny that Clark has many of his mannerisms on the field, with one noticeable exception.
“It’s been kind of interesting watching him,” Craig Sanderson said. “It’s so easy to put highlights out on social media. I’ve had people from Hamilton and who played with me at Alabama who see him and say, ‘He looks like you.’ He’s very talented.”
But Clark, who also plays basketball for the Spartans, isn’t a trash talker like his dad was. He’s someone of a quieter nature.
“He’s a person of few words,” Yeager said, “but his actions on the field speak volumes. He’s an incredible leader. He leads by example.”
“Yeah, he’s very quiet,” Craig Sanderson said. “You don’t see him doing a lot of celebrating out there. When he scores a touchdown, he just pitches the ball to the official.
“I was more cocky when I played. When I beat a guy and made a reception or scored a touchdown, I’d let him know.”
Clark Sanderson is part of a talented receiving corps that includes seniors Jackson Beatty and Rob Gillespie, giving senior quarterback John Colvin a few options to spread the wealth. Beatty leads the team with 14 receptions for 304 yards and three touchdowns. Gillespie also has a touchdown reception to his credit.
“We complement each other,” Sanderson said. “Jackson, I think, is just tough, a natural. He’s really good at running routes and catching the ball. He has really good hands. Rob is like a leader. He gets all of it, what we’re doing, quickly, and I try to follow him. I like to think I’m the speed guy with good hands. But I’ve got a lot of learning to do on running routes.”
Coming off consecutive 12-2 seasons and two trips to the Class 6A semifinals, the Spartans haven’t taken a step back this season. They are 5-0, 3-0 in Class 6A, Region 5, following a 48-0 rout of Jackson-Olin last Thursday. The victory was the 400th in the history of the program.
Mountain Brook plays host to Hoover (4-1) in a non-region game Friday night at Spartan Stadium.
“I think our season has gone pretty good,” Sanderson said. “I think we have proven we haven’t gone down in talent.”
