LITTLE ROCK — After he was told that Spencer Smith had carried 41 times in a 21-16 victory over Little Rock Catholic on Oct. 2, Cabot Coach Mike Malham jokingly referred to the fullback’s workload as “child abuse.”
Much of the abuse - from Catholic’s point of view - was delivered by inside linebacker Brian Anderson, who had a career-high 13 tackles, including two for loss.
“Man, [Smith] was getting hit by that guy on every play,” Malham said. “He’s good.”
And he was just a sophomore.
Anderson, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Sophomore Defensive Player of the Year, started every game and recorded 53 tackles (5 for loss), 26 assists, 4 sacks, 1 interception, 5 caused fumbles and 9 pass breakups.
One of Anderson’s tackles also was for a safety.
“He’s just got a nose for the football,” said his former coach at Catholic, Ellis “Scooter” Register. “It’s instinct. He can shed blockers, too. He’s really good at that. He’s just atough kid. That’s what I had been told by people that had seen him play in the eighth grade.”
Anderson and sophomore tailback Quinta Thomas transferred from Pulaski Oak Grove to Catholic as freshmen, but both enrolled after the July 1 cutoff date for immediate eligibility under Arkansas Activities Association rules, Register said.
Register said an appeal to the AAA was denied, so neither Anderson nor Thomas played as ninth-graders.
Both spent the 2008 season practicing with Catholic’s varsity team.
“They were sort of our redshirt guys, I guess,” Register said with a laugh. “It was basically a learning situation for Brian. He and Quinta ran scout team for us some and did a great job.”
It didn’t take long for Anderson, 5-9, 220 pounds, to shake the rust from a year-long layoff.
In the season opener at Fort Smith Southside, Anderson had 5 tackles (2 for loss), 1 assist, 1 caused fumble and 1 pass breakup in a 21-10 victory.
“I think he made the guys around him better,” Register said. “Those older guys kind of said, ‘Hey, look at this young guyhere. He’s doing his job.’ He made those older guys better.”
Register said Anderson should improve with maturity and time in the weight room.
Anderson should play next fall at around 230 pounds, Register said.
“He’s got a chance to be real special,” Register said.
Register will have to worry about blocking Anderson next season after being named Little Rock Central’s new coach Tuesday afternoon.
Sports, Pages 31 on 12/27/2009