Sumter High's Peeples runs into record books and Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week

High school sports are built around change. Players graduate, schemes change, and new faces step to the forefront.

During the last three years, however, there has been one constant at Sumter High: John Peeples.

Throughout quarterback shifts and stylistic changes, Peeples has been the Gamecocks' rock every Friday night since his sophomore season. As a senior, he made history last week against Myrtle Beach. As he strolled into the end zone for his fourth of five touchdowns against the Seahawks, Peeples scored the 61st rushing touchdown of his career, breaking a tie with Jamacia Jackson for the most in school history. That record-breaking performance was also more than enough to earn Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week honors.

"It feels good because I know people are behind me," Peeples said of the Gamecock community that has rallied behind him throughout his career.

Peeples is a special talent head coach Mark Barnes does not take for granted.

"John just has the ability to do so many things well. He's a power runner that can get extra yards after contact; he's also very patient on plays where he allows his offensive linemen to set up blocks and reacts off of those. And he has speed to create explosive plays and does a good job blocking when we ask him to block," Barnes said. "He's a rare breed, especially in today's time. He's kind of a throwback tailback to me because he'll do the physical part, but he also has the ability to make people miss."

The win over Myrtle Beach was a classic Peeples performance. He carried the ball 20 times for 160 yards and five touchdowns, two of which came in the second half as Myrtle Beach tried to make a comeback. Peeples' fifth and final score pushed the SHS lead to 42-25, putting the game away.

"That's comforting, and he's been really good at that for three years now," Barnes said of Peeples' ability to consistently put games away with his nose for the end zone. "That's the part I'm talking about with being able to get tough yards. When they know you're going to run it, you know you're going to run it, everyone else knows you are, and you're still able to plug it in there and be able to get three, four or five yards a clip is a great thing to have as a weapon."

After Peeples scored the record-breaking touchdown, the Gamecocks halted the game to celebrate the achievement. Coaches made sure the star running back knew where he stood entering the game, but he wasn't overly concerned with breaking the record.

"I'm just playing for the win. I didn't really notice until we stopped the game," Peeples said. "I was shocked. It felt good, but at the same time, I just wanted the win."

Peeples doesn't look back at his previous 62 touchdowns. He's more worried about the touchdowns he plans to score for the rest of the season on Sumter High's quest for a state title.

"No, not really," Peeples said when asked if he had a favorite touchdown. "I just want to keep grinding for more so I can expand it."

In order to score 62 touchdowns just three games into his senior season, Peeples has needed to become an iron man. While he's picked up some nicks and bruises along the way, Peeples always finds his way onto the field every Friday night, which has allowed Barnes to breathe a little bit easier going into games.

"It's very rare. I think John's greatest quality, other than what I've talked about, is his availability and dependability," Barnes said. "The characteristic that allows that to happen is toughness. John is a tough player. He almost is a running back with a defensive player's mentality. He's not afraid of contact, he delivers contact, knows how to absorb contact and probably one of his greatest traits is taking care of the football. His fumbles per carry has been an amazing stat for him throughout his career."

Peeples is more than happy to fight through things if it helps Sumter High win football games.

"I try to take care of my body a lot," Peeples said. "At the same time, if you're hurting, you're hurt, and in big games, if you're hurting, you just have to go out there and keep playing."

Barnes still reflects on the player Peeples was as a freshman. He was a real enigma for many on the coaching staff. Peeples was the backup quarterback and running back but blossomed into a do-it-all star for Sumter High in just a year's time. He's also shown off those quarterback skills at times, suiting up during an injury to Pate Merchant last season to play QB. Barnes appreciates having a star player who is willing to be that malleable.

"We didn't know what he was going to be. On the JV team, he wasn't a starter for us. To stay in the program and have faith in himself to make us see, sometimes that's a quality a player needs to have. They need to make us see, and John certainly did that as a sophomore and continued to do that every year," Barnes said. "(His versatility) is a big plus for us. Another one of John's great traits is that his football IQ is off the charts. He knows what to do at quarterback, knows what to do at running back."

Peeples just wants to win football games, regardless of where he's asked to do it.

"I take a lot of pride in that, but I also thank my coaches and my teammates for allowing me to do that and trusting me to do that," Peeples said.

There's still one very attainable record left for Peeples to reach this fall. He enters Friday's rivalry matchup with Crestwood just 878 yards shy of Rod McDowell's career rushing yards mark of 4,209. Peeples needed just three games to reach 402 on the season so far. But the senior running back isn't concerned about the record books.

"I don't really have that on my mind when I play," he said. "I don't think about it. I play for the win. I just want to win for the guys."