Livingston Daily Athlete of the Week: Joey Mattord, Hartland football
WHAT HE DID: Mattord ran 16 times for 184 yards and five touchdowns in a 48-20 victory over Plymouth. He also scored on a 42-yard punt return, becoming the first Livingston County since Brighton’s Joey Clifford in 2014 to score six touchdowns in a game. Mattord was the first Hartland player to score six touchdowns since Chad Hunt had six rushing touchdowns against Ann Arbor Skyline on Aug. 29, 2010. His rushing performance pushed him over 2,000 career yards. Through five games, Mattord had 680 yards and 10 touchdowns on 78 carries to lead the county in rushing. Mattord was also on Hartland’s state championship lacrosse team.
WHAT HE SAID ABOUT SCORING SIX TOUCHDOWNS: “Just finding the seams, going right away. 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.”
WHAT MATTORD SAID ABOUT HIS COLLEGE FUTURE: “Football is definitely my main focus. I do plan on playing lacrosse with my boys. That is a love, but football is my main.”
WHAT COACH BRIAN SAVAGE SAID: “The offensive line did a great job the last couple weeks; they’ve gotten better. Joey’s starting to find a little rhythm and just doing what Joey Mattord can do. He’s obviously a pretty good athlete.”
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Athlete of the Week: Joey Mattord, Hartland football
