Sophomore Jock Sanders has made an impact rushing, receiving and passing for St. Petersburg Catholic.
By JOHN C. COTEY
Published November 17, 2004
ST. PETERSBURG - Jock Sanders wasn't exactly expecting a playoff run when the season began. As hurricanes whipped through the bay area and canceled the first two St. Petersburg Catholic football games, the doubt grew in the sophomore.
"At first, I didn't think we would do (that) good," Sanders said. "I though this was a rebuilding year for us."
Graduation hadn't exactly gutted the Barons, but star running back Deondrea Lindsey was gone. Lindsey, now at Marshall, had more than 2,000 all-purpose yards last season.
Big shoes to fill for sure, but Sanders may have made the mistake of underestimating the Barons' secret weapon:
Some kid named Jock, who is starting to remind people of some kid named Chris (as in Davis, former Baron All-American).
"He has great field vision, and he can cut," Barons coach Dan Mancuso said. "He cuts like Chris Davis cut. They have the same running style.
"We knew Jock was a talented player, and he would be a big part of the offense."
Big part?
Try all parts.
It comes down to this for opponents: stop the Barons' running game, shut down the receivers, snuff out the halfback option pass and make sure your special teams are on red alert on punt and kickoff returns.
Do all this, and you might just keep Sanders from breaking your heart.
"I didn't think this would be my breakout year," said Sanders, who played a limited role last season. "I just waited my turn. I'm not that surprised; I knew I could do this because of the offensive line. Everyone said we didn't have an offensive line, but I knew we did."
Friday, Sanders will try to lead the Barons past archrival Clearwater Central Catholic. Sanders is no longer a surprise to anyone, especially the Marauders. When the teams met Oct. 15, Sanders ran for 103 yards and picked off quarterback Andrew Nowels to end CCC's final attempt to tie the score.
"When the CCC coach came over, he said, "We'll see you second round and we'll be keying in on you'," Sanders said. "I'm happy about it. Put the attention on me, and we have a lot of other players than can come out and do a lot of stuff."
On an offense with quarterback Billy Tapp, fullback Carl Teague and receivers Andrew Harris and Ryan Batty all having career years, Sanders has distinguished himself by doing what the others can't - everything.
He has 753 yards rushing on just 69 carries (a 10.9 average), 320 yards receiving and 305 yards passing.
Lest you think those are empty yards, the 5-foot-9, 165-pound speedster has nine rushing touchdowns, two receiving, three passing and two on kick returns.
"Jock is a talented player who's not selfish," Mancuso said. "He's not saying, "Give me the football.' We do what's going to work and then we attack. But Jock, he's in the mix."
To replace Lindsey, the Barons kept it in the family - Sanders is first cousins with the former Baron.
In fact, Sanders said Lindsey "taught me just about everything I know about football."
The two grew up together, playing backyard ball, at the playground and anywhere they could get enough players for a game.
Before the last CCC game, Lindsey called Sanders and offered some advice. He'll probably do the same this week.
Mancuso said Sanders couldn't have a better professor. He thinks Lindsey taught Sanders well. ... maybe too well.
"I think Jockey will be a better player than Deondrea," Mancuso said. "And that's real high praise."
