Von Sanford: Manager, mascot and inspiration for No. 1 South Panola
By Todd Kelly
tkelly@clarionledger.com
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Brian Albert Broom/The Clarion-Ledger
South Panola student manager Brandon Oliver (left) talks with Von Sanford during a jamboree Friday in Jackson. Sanford is an inspiration to the Tigers.
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BATESVILLE — Meet Devon Sanford, the perpetually smiling face of the South Panola football dynasty.
He's 33 years old, stands 4-feet-11 inches and weighs somewhere around 170 pounds.
He's never made a tackle, never scored a touchdown, never coached in a state championship game.
He can't read or write much and his speech can be difficult to decipher.
Yet if anyone's looking for the face of a powerhouse that has won 45 straight games, three consecutive Class 5A state titles and once again is ranked among the nation's top 10 heading into this week's season opener, this might be your man.
"I've always said Von is God's gift to South Panola," Tigers coach Ricky Woods said. "That's the best way I can describe him."
Sanford has been an integral part of Tiger football since 1994, when his father, Otto, brought Von to the South Panola fieldhouse one afternoon to meet Ed Stanley, who had recently been elevated from defensive coordinator to head coach following the retirement of Willis Wright.
Von was born with Down syndrome, a genetic condition that affects about 6,000 newborns each year in the United States. These individuals typically have mild to moderate intellectual disability and often share certain physical characteristics like low muscle tone, flat facial features and short stature.
"His dad wanted Von to do something to help the team," said Stanley, now the defensive coordinator at Northeast Mississippi Community College. "At that time, the kid really needed something in his life. It just so happened that football was it. He hung out with us and the guys just loved him. He became a manager, a mascot and a motivator all in one."
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Brian Albert Broom/The Clarion-Ledger
Von Sanford demonstrates his “Prime Time Shuffle,” borrowed from former NFL great Deion Sanders. Sanford’s dancing never fails to fire up South Panola students during pep assemblies on football game days.
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Sanford's role continued when Woods arrived in 2002. Their bond has grown over the last 4 1/2 years to where they've developed a game-day routine on Fridays during the season.
"I always review the tapes on Friday morning," Woods said, "and Von goes in there with me. Von always thinks we can win, so that reassures me and gets my confidence up."
After school, the pair make the 5-minute drive to Woods' house, where the coach gets dressed in his game attire and his right-hand man sneaks in a pregame nap in the coach's recliner.
"Von will be snoring before Ricky can get to the bedroom and change clothes," Woods' wife, Susan, said. "Then he'll get a bag of chips and a Hawaiian Punch and be ready to go."
By the time Sanford arrives at the fieldhouse, he's all business. Woods calls him the team's head manager. He's reliable, too. Sanford hasn't missed a game or practice in 12 years. Woods even made certain Sanford was on the sidelines when he coached in the Alabama/Mississippi All-Star Classic last year in Mobile.
"Von does a lot of work around here," Woods said. "He gets the water and passes out the jerseys.
"When he gets to a place and has a job to do, he doesn't even stop and talk to me until that job is finished. He'd get mad at me if I tried to talk to him. When he gets it all set up, then you can talk to him all you want."
And when Von catches those student managers slipping on the job?
"I fire them," he says, grinning.
That dependability has earned Sanford his own nameplate and locker in the football coaches' office.
He also has his own player's locker, where he keeps his jersey, his matching South Panola bandanna - one of three Woods' mother buys for him each year - and Nike gloves for game nights.
Sanford picks a different number each season. He'll wear 37 this fall. He was No. 1 last year, which might have been an issue because standout junior linebacker Chris Strong wanted No. 1.
"Chris had to wear No. 53 for the first seven games because No. 1 was Von's jersey," Woods said. "He finally talked Von into it so then we had two No. 1s."
Sanford can afford to have his share of give-and-take with South Panola's players. He's related to 14 on this year's team, including Strong. Former Tiger stars like Derek Pegues, John and Peria Jerry and Eddie Strong - not to mention a seemingly endless string of Sanfords who've starred for SP - are his kinfolk. They can't begin to imagine South Panola football without Von patrolling the sidelines, shaking hands and giving out pats on the back after yet another Tiger touchdown.
Many love to good-naturedly pick at Sanford, who might respond by making those players get their own water at practice.
"He's a big inspiration," said Pegues, a Mississippi State defensive back whose father, Ezell, is married to Von's sister, Jeanette. "You just wanted to go to practice to see Von smiling. It seemed like he never had a bad day or any problems. He's just a big part of Tiger football. Now that I'm in college, I miss him being around every day."
According to Woods, Von plays a major role in keeping the team loose. Each coach has his own collection of "Von stories," like the time when Sanford's ride to the school was late and he missed the team bus for an away game.
"We got in our van and carried him to Columbus," Von's mother, Margarette, said. "When we got down there, the game had already started. Von ran out across that field and the policemen reached for him because they didn't understand. Some of the players yelled, 'That's Von - let him through!' so the policemen just backed up and let him go."
"You just have to be around Von to appreciate him," Woods said. "He never has a bad day - unless he's hungry. His favorite things are South Panola football, church and wrasslin', and he loves to eat, just like I do. So we've got a lot in common."
Celebrating all those South Panola victories - 59 since Woods arrived in Batesville four seasons ago - is only a small part of the joy, the coach said.
"You look back over your career and of course you want to win as many games as you can," says the 46-year-old Woods, whose remarkable career includes five state championships, an MHSAA record he shares with ex-Weir coach Joe Gant. "But the relationships you build with these kids and the community and people like Von, that's the most important thing. Von has been an inspiration to me, my wife, my two boys and my mother.
"It would be a loss if Von wasn't around here. He's really important to this program."
Source: http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060820/SPORTS06/608200371