Football: Peterson, McCarthy headed to Linfield

It was a September evening and the Douglas football team was trailing league rival Hug 28-19 at home with the clock draining out on the third quarter.

Douglas quarterback David Laird swung around and dumped a perfect screen pass to star running back Brock Peterson, who bolted down the field with the goal line 45 yards away.

It appeared Peterson had a free ride to the end zone, but tackle Trevor McCarthy spotted trouble in the form of Hug's fastest player closing quickly on Peterson.

"I ran all the way down the field to catch this kid and I'm yelling for Brock to slow down," McCarthy said. "He couldn't see me."

Peterson just smiled. "I ended up knocking over two of my own guys," he said sheepishly.

"That's right, he knocked both of us over and we were one yard away from a touchdown," McCarthy said. "The Hug kid runs like a 4-flat 40 or something, but Brock gets taken down by us.

"It was my favorite play ever."

Peterson went on to score on a run from a yard out two plays later and Douglas went on to win the game 32-28 on another Peterson touchdown run.

Peterson was named the Sierra League Offensive Player of the Year after running for 1,620 yards, including a school-record 343 yards against Carson, and 21 touchdowns. He caught 17 passes (mostly those pesky screens) for 240 yards and, ahem, no touchdowns.

Both he and McCarthy earned Northern 4A All-Region honors.

Now they'll get four more years to iron out a couple of those kinks.

Both Peterson (5-10, 180) and McCarthy (6-3, 255) will be playing at NCAA Division III Linfield College in McMinnville, Ore., next season.

They narrowed down their choices from a smattering of schools around the country.

Peterson was looking at Penn, where his older brother Jake plays, Willamette, Southern Oregon and Southern Virginia and McCarthy was looking at Southern Oregon and Willamette.

"Linfield will be a good fit for both of those kids," Douglas coach Mike Rippee said.

"It's a highly academic school and they both excel academically. The level of football is great, it's competitive football. They both have a chance to be very successful there, both on the field and in the classroom."

Indeed, both players mentioned that Linfield's academics (the school is ranked 122nd nationally among liberal arts schools by U.S. News) was one of the top selling points.

Both are preparing to double major in business and Spanish. Peterson carries a 4.5 GPA and McCarthy clocks in at a 4.3.

"We just got done with Advanced Placement tests last week," Peterson said.

"Longest week of my life," McCarthy added.

But aside from the academics, both are excited at the prospect of continuing their football careers.

Linfield plays in the Northwest Conference and holds the national record for longest streak of winning seasons at any level having just finished its 52nd consecutive season above .500.

The Wildcats also won the Division III national championship in 2004 and have three previous national championships at the NAIA level.

"We were excited about the caliber of the school academically," Peterson said. "Athletically they were just a step above everyone else. They are playing for a championship every year and they take things pretty seriously."

The recruiting attention came naturally to Peterson, what with the big awards and the gaudy numbers (not to mention a highlight reel full of bone-jarring runs).

"I always planned to try to keep playing at the next level," Peterson said. "I had high expectations entering the year but I wasn't thinking about Player of the Year or anything like that. I just wanted to help our team win games. To have it work out the way it did, it was really just a blessing."

For McCarthy, the fact that anyone was interested came as a surprise to him.

For one, he's an offensive lineman " which is hard to translate into numbers for coaches who haven't seen a player in person " and two, he finished out the year on a knee he'd blown out at the halfway point of the season.

"I was kind of thinking I was done after the playoffs," McCarthy said. "About a week after the season was over, Southern Oregon came down and talked to us. That was my first clue that I might have a chance to play at the next level.

"It was a tough sell. I had to fill out some online forms and wait for schools to contact me. If you hear from a coach, then you can send them your film and hope it looks okay. I guess Linfield liked what they saw."

McCarthy went under the knife in December to have his knee rebuilt and was just cleared to begin lifting earlier this month.

"I may end up having to take a medical red-shirt the first year out," he said. "Brock and I have been lifting weights and running every day to try to prepare for this.

"We take Sundays off and catch up on homework, but other than that, we're just trying to get ready for football. The summer can't go fast enough."

Peterson said neither he or McCarthy have any visions of starting as freshman, especially in a talent-rich program.

"They have a real strong team, they aren't in desperate need of us, we know that going in," he said. "We're going to have to earn our time and hopefully break in on special teams or in mop-up situations those first few years.

"They bring in good players, there's no question. That'll just make us work harder."

Linfield is looking at Peterson primarily as a running back, but McCarthy said he's able to shift to guard or center if needed.

"I played every spot on the line in high school," he said. "I'm most comfortable at tackle, but I'm willing to go wherever they want to put me," McCarthy said. "I'm really looking forward to learning from the guys that'll be ahead of me on the depth chart.

Linfield is bringing in 30 players this year. Peterson is being joined by one other freshman running back, although six are already on the roster (two will be seniors this year).

The Wildcats currently have 12 offensive linemen on their roster and are bringing six more, including McCarthy, in.

Peterson's will get one final high school game at the Sertoma Classic in Reno on June 20, but McCarthy will miss it due to his continuing knee rehab.

"I think we're both just excited to play," Peterson said. "Just to have such a passion for the game, it's nice to be able to keep going."

Linfield opens its season Sept. 13 at Hardin-Simmons in Abilene, Texas.