Career nights becoming the norm for Hartland football's Joey Mattord
HARTLAND — Hartland running back Joey Mattord had what appeared to be a career night when the Eagles faced Howell in the regular season last year.
He ran 29 times for 296 yards and all four of Hartland’s touchdowns in a 29-7 victory, breaking free for scoring runs of 73 and 55 yards along the way.
It was a memorable game, to be sure, but it’s looking more like a typical night at the office for Mattord.
After Hartland struggled to move the ball against tough Novi and Brighton defenses, Mattord has broken loose the past two weeks.
He ran 12 times for 285 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-10 victory over Salem and ran 16 times for 184 yards and five touchdowns in a 48-20 victory over Plymouth. Mattord also took a punt return 42 yards to the house in the Plymouth game, becoming the first Livingston County player since Brighton running back Joey Clifford in 2014 to score six touchdowns in a game. The last Hartland player to score six touchdowns was Chad Hunt, who had six on the ground against Ann Arbor Skyline on Aug. 29, 2010.
“Just finding the seams, going right away,” Mattord said. “You’ve got to trust your ability to play football, trust your buddies in the front line and trust your guys who have your back on the outside, as well.”
With Hartland traveling to Howell at 7 p.m. Friday for the renewal of the M-59 rivalry, Mattord hopes to replicate the approach that produced a monster game against the Highlanders last season.
“When you find a hole, you hit it hard,” he said. “That’s what the coaches always tell us. Two hands on the ball at all times and hit it hard. You’ll find your seam and do your thing out in the open.”
Mattord was the only player to rush for 1,000 yards in Livingston County last season, running 174 times for 1,109 yards and 13 touchdowns. He’s well on his way toward eclipsing that milestone again this year with a county-high 680 yards and 10 touchdowns on 78 carries.
It hasn’t been all smooth sailing for Mattord and the Eagles.
After winning its opener, Hartland found itself in defensive battles the next two weeks, losing 13-10 to Novi and 9-7 to Brighton. Novi held Mattord to 41 yards on 16 carries before Brighton limited him to 35 yards on 10 rushes.
“It was frustrating,” Mattord said. “They did a really good job. They made it cloudy for both our offense and defense. It’s in the past now. We’ve got to keep moving and figure out what’s working well for us.”
Mattord eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark for his career last week, as he makes a case for being one of Hartland’s best running backs ever.
“He’s definitely in the top group,” Hartland coach Brian Savage said. “There’s been several real good ones. Austin Pierce (2014 graduate) and Jack Slavin (2016 graduate) and some of those kids, they all kind of had their own little thing. Joey’s been nice, because we’re able to move him around different places. He’s definitely in that top three or four running backs we’ve had come through since I’ve been around.”
He’s one of the top all-around athletes, period, to come through Hartland in recent years. Mattord is also a key member of a lacrosse team that won the state Division 1 championship in June, scoring 14 goals and adding 15 assists.
Mattord hopes to continue his athletic career in football.
“Football is definitely my main focus,” he said. “I do plan on playing lacrosse with my boys. That is a love, but football is my main.
“It was huge playing with my boys out there for one last time, those seniors. I love those seniors. It was a good ride. Just working every week with my teammates, my coach pushed us super hard. That’s how we got that victory.”
Mattord is not only Hartland’s primary ball carrier, accounting for 78% of the Eagles’ rushing yards, he also has 23 tackles at linebacker, punts and returns kicks.
“We’d like to take him off the field when we can,” Savage said. “We’re obviously not a really deep team. He’s playing where we need him. That’s what great athletes do.”
Mattord certainly won’t sneak up on Howell, having scored eight career touchdowns against the Highlanders.
“He’s a ‘wow’ guy,” Howell coach Brian Lewis said. “You watch him on film, he’s super impressive, a really good player. He presents problems all over the field, presents problems on offense, presents problems on defense with his skill set. He’s an extremely good player.”
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Career nights becoming the norm for Hartland's Joey Mattord
