Only at the high school level could there be a place for a guy like Erik Hanson.
Where else could a gritty 5-foot-7-inch, 155-pound defensive tackle outplay an adversary while giving up 7 inches and 120 pounds?
That’s just what Hanson, a state-qualifying wrestler at 145 pounds last year, did last week in keying Thornton Fractional South’s 17-7 upset of previously 16th-ranked Richards.
Everyone but Hanson made a big deal of Richards’ offensive linemen outweighing the lightweight Rebels’ defensive linemen by an average of 100 pounds per man.
Richards’ Mark Williams had gained 1,393 yards and scored 24 touchdowns behind the huge Bulldogs line before T.F. South held him to 52 yards on 17 carries.
“Those Richards guys were heavy and real strong,” Hanson said. “The guy I faced, [Mike] Hettiger, was big (6-2, 275) and pretty fast. But I was quicker and I guess just a little bit better at getting low and getting under him.”
Along with close friend Jeff Daisy (5-9, 195) and linemates Denny Sidkey (6-1, 190), Mike Jones (6-0, 190) and Glynne Hill (6-2, 175), the Rebels used a shifting, sliding scheme to move past Hettiger, Jim Moore (6-5, 305), Mike Ferrin (6-2, 290) & Co.
“I don’t know how he does it,” Daisy said of Hanson. “He’s so quick, and he bench-presses 285 pounds. He outlifts guys bigger than him. He inspires the rest of us. It doesn’t matter how big you are; it’s how big your heart is.”
Hanson was all of 5-3 and 112 pounds as a defensive back on T.F. South’s freshman team. He sprouted to 5-6, 135 as a sophomore-team defensive back.
A year later in the preseason, Rebels defensive coordinator Bob Padjen placed Hanson in the middle of his five-man front as the defensive line took on the characteristics of the quick little East Carolina linemen of the 1980s that Padjen admired.
“I didn’t play much my freshman and sophomore years because of my size,” said Hanson, who began playing Pee-Wee football at age 8. “But I guess coach Padjen saw something in me.
“The season-opener that year was against Hillcrest, and the other team’s players looked at me like I was supposed to be playing defensive back. They underestimated me, like everyone does.
“A lot of the younger kids on our team look up to me now because of my size and what I’ve been able to do.”
