Chicago Christian’s Brock Sperling has a good relationship with his grandfather.
Bruce Sperling now lives in Michigan, but he was on the first football team for the Knights in the late 1960s and made the first tackle in program history, according to Brock.
And Bruce started a whole trend of Sperlings playing football for Chicago Christian.
“Even though he lives in Michigan, he’ll come (to Palos Heights) once in a while to watch me play,” Brock said about Bruce. “I talk to him a lot and see him about 10 times a year.
“I text him a lot and tell him about the games.”
Brock’s text this weekend was a fun one to write.
The senior lineman had a great night Friday on defense with 10 tackles, including four for loss and a sack. He also blocked a punt that was recovered by teammate Isaac Workman in the end zone for a touchdown in a 35-12 Chicagoland Christian Conference victory over Chicago Hope.
The Knights (4-1, 2-1) are red hot despite one preseason projection saying they would finish sixth in the conference and miss the playoffs. And Sperling has had a big hand in that success.
First-year Chicago Christian coach CJ Cesario came from the Mount Carmel staff. He coached the sophomore team there in 2023 after coaching in Tennessee and Georgia as well.
He heard of Sperling before taking the job but now gets to see him on a daily basis.
“His heart is absolutely massive,” Cesario said of Sperling. “He’s a wonderful young man who represents Christ in all that he does. He leads by example. He pays attention to detail.
“And he’s relentless on the football field.”
When the conference merry-go-round found the Knights going from the Metro Suburban Red to the Chicagoland Christian Conference in 2022, Sperling won the Defensive Lineman of the Year Award as a sophomore. Last year, however, injuries hampered his chances for a repeat.
Defensive assistant Sam Caldwell joined Chicago Christian’s last year and he couldn’t wait to start coaching Sperling, who also plays on the offensive line.
“He was the first person I heard about when I walked in the door, and he has lived up to the billing,” Caldwell said. “Brock brings in a lot of intensity. He has a penchant for big hits and finding the football, but he is also a versatile player.
“He played nose tackle for us the first couple of years and played Mike (middle linebacker) for us last year. Now, he plays everywhere up front for us. He has unmatched physicality for the position in high school football.”
The 6-foot-1, 235-pound Sperling, who plans on playing basketball and baseball for the Knights to finish off his high school career, is drawing football interest from Hillsdale, Wheaton Lawrence Tech and Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Hillsdale would be an interesting fit as he would have a chance to be teammates with his older brother. Brock said Hunter has been a big influence in his football career.
“It was wild to see the contrast from him beating up on everybody (at Chicago Christian) to getting put on his butt for the first time in a while,” Brock said of Hunter. “Then I saw him work his tail off, and I would go on 4 a.m. workouts with him to try to get better.
“It’s been a ton of fun to see him grow, and the last game I went to, he had a safety and a sack. It’s great to see him do well.”
But no matter where Sperling ends up, Cesario said he will do well, too.
“Brock is going to play college football and make a huge impact right away,” Cesario said.
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
