Golden key to Spartans’ success

Crawford Golden can do a little bit of everything on the football field, and he can do all of it well.

According to his coach, Chris Yeager, he has the blocking skills of a lineman, receiving skills of a wide receiver and rushing skills of a running back.

“The only thing we don’t know if he’s got,” Yeager said, “is can he throw the ball?”

The Mountain Brook High School football team won’t likely learn the answer to that question this season. The Spartans have a capable quarterback in Strother Gibbs, and Golden, a senior, is excelling at his current position.

As a 6-foot-3, 225-pound tight end, he can clear the way for his ball-toting teammates, typically Gibbs and running back Sam Higgins, or create mismatches in the passing game. With the ball in his hands, he’s hard to bring down.

“It’s just fun getting to play with all my friends every Friday night,” Golden said. “You can’t really ask for more than that.”

The Spartans couldn’t have asked for a much better start to the season, either. They won their first seven games, four of them against Class 7A, Region 3 opponents, and are all but assured of a playoff spot for the fourth consecutive year.

Golden is a big reason why.

“I believe, on offense, the success we’ve had is because of him,” Yeager said. “When we’ve had a very good tight end — good tight end and a good quarterback — we’ve always been successful on offense.”

Golden’s coach compares him to a chess piece, the queen, because of his versatility. He can be used in more ways than just about anyone on the field.

Yeager hears about the problems that causes for opposing coaches.

“I mean, just about all of them, they say, ‘Well, we don’t have a No. 9,’” Yeager said, referring to Golden. “... He’s not only unique to our team. I think he’s unique to our region because he’s a big body, he’s got fine motor skills, he can run.”

Golden displays his versatility in every game, but it was particularly evident in one. Facing Spain Park in September, Mountain Brook took advantage of its tight end’s blocking and pass-catching abilities en route to a 49-35 victory.

Golden hauled in one touchdown and almost scored another. He turned a screen pass into a 50-plus yard gain before being run out of bounds at the 1-yard line. He thought he crossed the goal line.

“The offense was just kind of clicking,” Golden said. “We were able to throw the ball well, run the ball well. It was just a good game.”

It’s the type of game Golden had long been working toward. He started playing football in Mountain Brook’s youth program as a third grader and stuck with it through junior high before arriving at the high school.

He transitioned from wide receiver to tight end prior to his sophomore year. Even then, Yeager recognized his potential.

“The biggest thing that we saw early was that he had a lot of toughness, willing to bloody his nose,” he said. “The physical part of the game didn’t faze him, so he had that element and was willing to work every day.”

A lot of his work took place on the field, and a lot of it took place in the weight room. As he’s grown, Golden has added more than 50 pounds to his frame.

The increase in size and strength has made him a force to be reckoned with in the trenches. It’s something he takes pride in.

“He’s probably our best blocker,” senior left guard Charles Regan said. “He kills people on the line.”

Golden’s many assets have made a recruiting target for a handful of colleges. He’s been in touch with Austin Peay, UNC Charlotte, South Alabama, Tennessee Tech and Jacksonville University.

Golden said he’d like to play at the next level; his coach doesn’t doubt that he can.

“He’s got an elite work ethic that is extremely rare, not just in football but in all athletics,” Yeager said.

Golden knew before the season that he would assume an elevated role in his team’s offense. The Spartans graduated two of their top receivers from 2018, in Hamp Greene and Pierce Rodrigues, and Golden emerged as an obvious contender to compensate for the loss in production.

He prepared accordingly.

Golden, who plays lacrosse in the spring, trained intensely through the summer with his teammates. Practices, weight sessions, extra route running and 7-on-7 competitions consumed a lot of his energy.

Back then, Golden didn’t know how good his team was going to be. But he put himself — and therefore his Spartans — in a position to succeed.

They’ll need him to keep stepping up the rest of the way.

“From this point, everything we do is going to be making him productive,” Yeager said. “If he’s productive, the offense is going to be productive.”