The 2020 Catoosa-Walker County Football Dream Team
You have to go back almost a decade to find a running back in either Catoosa or Walker County that put up as much yardage as Gordon Lee senior Cade Peterson did during the 2020 season.
This year’s Catoosa-Walker Offensive Player of the Year began the season with a solid 125-yard, three-touchdown effort in a win over Dade County and finished his first four games with 55 carries, 384 yards and 10 rushing touchdowns, including four scores against Walker County rival LaFayette.
However, it was over the course of the last six regular games of the season that Peterson began to open eyes, not just in northwest Georgia, but around the state.
In those half-dozen contests, Peterson ran around, over and through opposing defenses to the tune of 1,210 yards on just 85 carries — a ridiculous 14.2 yards per carry average — and found the endzone 12 more times.
That included impressive performances against Region 6-A foes Armuchee (194 yards), Bowdon (206 yards), Mt. Zion (279 yards) and a regular season-ending 262 yards and four scores in a 50-13 win at Trion.
He recalled his final touchdown run against Trion, a fourth-quarter, 50-yard romp on his final touch of the night, as his most memorable moment of the year.
“I went to Coach (Shane) Cauthron, our offensive coordinator, and I told him that this one certain play was open and I wanted to run it,” he explained. “He wanted to look at it first and, after he did, he called the play and I ran it for the
last touchdown.”
All total, including a pair of state playoff games, Peterson rushed 178 times, averaging more than a first down (10.1 yards) every time he carried the ball. He finished the year with 1,806 yards and 27 TD’s and was named the Region 6-A Player of the Year.
The yardage was the second-most in the entire state in all classifications in 2020, trailing only River Ridge junior Amehre Morrison’s
1,958 yards, while his touchdown total was third-best in the state, just two behind Morrison and Jones County senior Andrew Carner, who both ended the year with 29.
Peterson also broke the Gordon Lee single-season rushing record, previously set in 2016 by Drew Cobb, who racked up 1,761 in 10 games.
“To be honest, it wasn’t until the last three or four games
of the year that I even knew I was close to (the record),” he added. “I only found out because a news reporter came up and mentioned it. After that I really wanted (the record), so I kept working hard and kept pushing until I got it. But I couldn’t have done it though without (the offensive linemen) up front.”
It’s been a remarkable career for 6-foot-1, 185-pound Peterson, who stepped up on defense as a sophomore with 65 tackles and one interception at safety. He recorded over 70 tackles as a junior and added 46 more this past season, adding a pick and two pass break-ups.
He also amassed 39 rushing touchdowns and just shy of 3,000 rushing yards (2,939) in the past two seasons, while also handling the punting chores.
He attributed much of that to hard work in the offseason, especially this past summer, when he found ways to supplement what he was able to do in the school’s weight room, once COVID-19 restrictions were lessened.
“My family has a good relationship with some people and I was able to go to this place we call the Chicken House,” he explained. “I went there every day after football practice to get my weights and other stuff done that I wasn’t able to get done (at school).”
Peterson currently has a couple of small college football offers, but said he is keeping his options open for now to see what offers might come about following baseball this spring. The senior is a standout on the diamond as well, having helped Gordon Lee win Class A Public School state championships in 2018 and 2019.
“I’m going to miss the atmosphere, the lights, the crowd and all my friends,” he said, looking back on his time as a Gordon Lee football player. “Really, just everything.”