John Peterson leads Vancleave to first 3-0 start since 2010
John Peterson is a hard man to bring down.
It’s a reality that Greene County and Hancock have dealt with, and one that Moss Point (0-3) was trucked by on Friday when Peterson’s Vancleave Bulldogs (3-0) took down the Tigers at home, 35-26.
The senior tailback tallied 287 yards and three touchdowns in the game, bringing his season total to 902 rushing yards in just a trio of contests.
“He’s like the old-school runner, he’s tough and he’s going to be downhill, hard-nosed,” Vancleave coach Kevin Fant said after the win. “He’s going to run smashmouth football. He runs so hard. You aren’t going to see the flashy bouncing around, which he can do, he just runs hard.”
Peterson nearly hit 200 rushing yards in the first quarter and capped off each of the Bulldogs’ first three possessions with touchdowns.
His offensive lineman consistently carved out holes and dominated the point of contact early in the game.
“The (offensive line) comes to work every day,” Peterson said. “Every day throughout the week we put in the work. They don’t slack. When I need them, they get up. They’re a big part of this.”
On the Bulldogs’ second drive of the game, the offense stalled into a fourth-and-eight situation just outside the red zone.
Somewhat surprisingly, the offense took the field. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Peterson got the call and picked up the first down with ease. The very next play, Peterson was in the end zone.
“I think one of our coaches said, ‘ask the linemen,’” Fant said. “They’re the ones that gotta go ahead and do it, calling these signals is easy. We said, ‘what do y’all think, lineman?’ When they immediately respond back, ‘let’s run this,’ I don’t even think twice. I run it.”
That aggressive decision, along with an onside kick recovery, led to a statement win over the reigning Region 8-4A champions.
Vancleave also found some success through the air. Quarterback Hunter Parker completed four passes for 67 yards and a touchdown.
“If you run the ball well, be physical up front and they have to get some of the defensive backs involved, it opens up the passing game a little bit,” Fant said. “We missed a few big ones that could’ve been big plays, but I think it demands respect when you can throw in the passing game. Hunter (Parker) did a great job the last couple of games of stepping up when we needed him to.”
Vancleave is 3-0 for the first time since 2010, and the Peterson-led offense is a big reason why. Peterson, who started his career at fullback and played a bit of linebacker before backing up the now-graduated Dayan Bilbo, is one of only a handful of players in the country who is averaging at least 300 rushing yards per game, according to MaxPreps.com.
The Bulldogs are off next week, but after that the all-important district schedule commences at the end of the month. Vancleave last reached the postseason in 2020 and last won a playoff game in 2015.
The district includes reigning 5A state champion Picayune, one of the state’s top offenses in Gautier, a talented George County team and an East Central squad that has made the playoffs for eight years running.
Vancleave is hoping to play the dark horse role and steal one of the four Region 4-5A playoff spots this season.
“We can’t let off the gas,” Peterson said. “We got to keep going. There’s too many good teams in this district to let it up.”
Vancleave returns to action against Long Beach in two weeks while Moss Point will face Gautier next week in its search for its first win of the season.
This story was originally published September 9, 2022 at 11:54 PM.
