Boyd Buchanan running back Matt Peardon pushes through the Coalfield defense in this 2004 file photo. Matt Peardon, Boyd-Buchanan (Nov. 28, 2003): Despite frigid temperatures, a
light snow falling and a pulled hamstring that had limited him in practice,
the Buccaneers’ workhorse ran for a school-record 330 yards and four
touchdowns on 26 carries. The junior scored on runs of 51, 37, 22 and 9
yards in a semifinal win over Christian Academy of Knoxville.
Staff File PhotoAs the game wore on and the temperature dropped, the light rain that had fallen for much of the first half turned to snow and the field, already a slushy mess of mud, began to freeze.
Throwing the ball was all but out of the question, so Boyd-Buchanan turned to its workhorse tailback, junior Matt Peardon, who had been slowed for more than five weeks by a pulled hamstring.
With a chance to return to the 2003 Class 1A state championship game on the line, Peardon overcame the conditions and the injury and set a school record by rushing for 330 yards on 26 carries, scoring four touchdowns in the Buccaneeers’ win. That ranks as the No. 8 all-time best single-game performance by an area prep football player in a poll of the Times Free Press sports staff.
“I remember how cold it was, and how that made it nearly impossible for us to throw the ball,” said Drew Akins, who played quarterback on that Bucs team. “We knew we would have to run the ball a lot, and I think we wound up calling more than 50 run plays. We pretty much had to put the game on Matt’s shoulders, and he carried us.”
Peardon scored on runs of 51, 37, 22 and 9 yards, and his longest of the night answered a CAK score that had tied the game in the first quarter. From there, the Bucs added another just before halftime and pulled away in the frigid second half.
“The field was pretty bad and the wind made it really miserable,” Peardon said. “Whenever we tried to throw the ball, it looked like a knuckleball because of the cold and wind, so we just had to go right at them.
“It’s awesome to remember that game even now, or have somebody mention it every now and then. I remember riding home with my dad after the game and we figured I had about 200 yards, maybe. I didn’t even know what I had until the next morning when I read the newspaper.”