IHSAA football: Crispus Attucks coach Anthony
King on Corshawn Sartin
Crispus Attucks coach Anthony King talks about what makes quarterback Corshawn Sartin special.
- Crispus Attucks quarterback Corshawn Sartin’s dad passed away right next to him when he was 10 years old.
- Sartin wanted to quit football after his father passed but his stepfather encouraged him to keep playing. “Football kept my mind straight,” Sartin said.
- In December 2024, Sartin’s mother suffered from a stroke. He feared he’d lose her, too.
INDIANAPOLIS — A 10-year-old Corshawn Sartin kept tapping his father as the two laid in bed inside their home on the south side of Indianapolis.
Corey Sartin Sr. never responded. He died right next to his son.
”I was heartbroken,” Sartin said. “My head wasn’t in the right place, and I wanted to quit football after that happened.”
Sartin’s stepfather, William White, wouldn’t let him. White’s father also died when he was young. White quit football. He told Sartin giving up was a mistake and encouraged him to continue.
“He treated me like I was his son and gave me the courage to keep playing football,” Sartin said. “Football kept my mind straight and kept me out of trouble. I’ll always be different because of him.”
Now, Sartin is the star quarterback and safety for Crispus Attucks and has an offer from Anderson University.
Attucks defeated Purdue Poly 62-0 in a home victory on Friday. Sartin had five touchdowns, including two rushing, and threw for 253 yards. The senior also had two interceptions.
Sartin spearheads the Tigers on and off the field. Though he called leadership “hard,” Sartin enjoys mentoring the freshmen because he regrets not taking his first year of high school seriously. Sartin believes it’s his responsibility to ensure the program “remains at a high level” and understands that starts with leading by example in areas like regularly attending class.
“He leads by action,” Tigers coach Anthony King said.
His father’s death forced him to.
“I’m the funny guy in our family, and I knew it would be hard to keep a smile on, but I had to stay positive for my family; I had to make sure we were all cool,” said Sartin, who is the second youngest of five siblings. “My brother was getting in trouble and my mom (Candace McNeil) was struggling, so I knew I had to step up and do something.”
One of those things was continuing to play football after receiving White’s counsel.
“Football was my safe space, and she knew that, so that’s one less child that (my mom) had to worry about,” Sartin said.
Six years after his father passed, death almost captured Sartin’s ‘safe space’ again.
When Sartin returned home from school in mid-December 2024, his cousin informed him his mother had a stroke. Sartin rushed to the hospital. To lose one parent was tragic. The thought of losing two was unbearable.
“I was scared because I already lost a father and didn’t want to lose my mother either,” Sartin said. “That was going to break me, and if that did happen, I don’t know if sports or school would have been my thing.”
McNeil survived. King assumed the father-like role for Sartin this time. Sartin said King was “there to guide me in the right direction.” King’s mantra, “Dare to be different,” helped Sartin refrain from using unhealthy means to cope and allowed him to stay focused on school and football. Sartin called King a “football guy” but believes King’s goal is to get his kids “ready for the real world.”
It is.
”I use football as a tool to help these young men and guide them through life and show them how adversity goes,” King said. “We as Black men carry things all the time, and we can feel like we don’t have anybody to come and help us, so I want to create a safe space.”
King said Sartin has matured in becoming more vulnerable with his emotions. He called Sartin “very coachable” and praised him for wanting to grow as a young man.
King first met Sartin when he was roughly 7 years old and playing Little League football. King has developed a stronger relationship with his star quarterback since assuming the head coaching position at Attucks in November 2023. King wasn’t aware of Sartin’s story until he got the job and said he was “shocked” when he first heard about Corey’s death.
“Just the way he walks around with his head held high would make you think he never went through something like what he did,” King said. ”…He’s really learning how to have amnesia when it comes to whatever the problem or situation is that’s challenging him and staying focused on the future and what the goal is.”
Sartin lives with a teammate until McNeil returns home from Gary, where she is recovering from her stroke. Sartin tries not to think about Corey’s passing. If he does, Sartin acknowledges his emotions, tells his dad, “I miss you,” and moves forward.
At 17 years old, Sartin recognizes the brevity of life.
But Sartin has no self-pity about his journey. Just gratitude and a fuel to persist.
“I learned not to take anything for granted,” Sartin said. “Honestly, I can’t feel sorry for myself because at the end of the day, this is life. Things happen whether you like it or not and this is what coach King is preparing us for: the real world. I just saw it at a younger age, but that’s fine because I handle it well. My story definitely gives me that gear to keep going.”
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