Mick Peterson is what you call a football lifer.

When Pontiac High School had a late coaching change this summer before the start of the football season, it reached out to an old friend. Peterson, who turned around a doormat Pontiac program four decades ago, came on board as an ambassador/community liaison for the program.

Peterson is keeping it pretty low key, coming to a practice once a week, usually on Wednesdays. He might spend time with lower level coaches with techniques and hit a few JFL practices.

Most of all, Peterson, who had a highly successful run as head coach at Walnut High School in the 1980s, is there to let the coaching staff and community know, it can happen. He did it.

When Peterson came to Pontiac in 1989, he was inheriting a doormat Indians program that had won just four games in four years, including a 24-game losing streak.

The Indians reached the playoffs in Peterson’s first year, falling to his hometown Morris Redskins, 14-0, in the first round. Three years later, in 1993, they won a state championship, and would go on to make 14 playoff appearances (18-13 record) under Peterson, having never reached the postseason ever before.

While he was unable to coach, due to a controversial IHSA ruling, the Indians went back to state in 2002, placing second in 5A with Peterson’s right-hand man, David Young, at the helm.

So, it can be done, even though how dismal things may seem at the time.

The Indians are in a similar shape now as they were when Peterson arrived as head coach 32 years ago. The Indians have gone 4-17 since reaching the playoffs (9-2) in 2018, going 3-6 in 2019 and 0-4 this spring. They have won one game this fall, a Week 3 200-14 win over winless Rantoul.

Head coach John Johnson came aboard in July after Alan Kuchefski left to become tight ends coach at Western Illinois University. Johnson had been at Normal U-High and was named as GM and head coach of the Bloomington Edge indoor football team only to have the owner pull the plug on their season.

“We want to show the community that YES, it can be done,” Peterson said. “I didn’t want to see this fail, because it was on life support when the coach resigned in July. I agreed to be like a voice to encourage and that’s what I’ve tried to do.”

All it takes is what Peterson calls an idealistic attitude, “that yes we can.” He said he had the right group to turn things around when he took over in 1989.

“I was fortunate we had bunch of seniors and their parents who were extremely supportive of doing it the way we needed it to be done. And that included the JFL program. I was not a fan of JFL when I came here,” he said.

“These (JFL) guys came to me, we will do what ever it is you want. We will teach it your way, we will use your terms, and they were sincere. Couple of them ended up coaching with me at the high school.

“And you had to have a group of kids that bought in. That’s the most important thing.”

Peterson’s Indians were the talk of the town which was craving for a winner.

“We could have run for governor that year (1993). It was something that unique. Having won four games in four years and ended being in the playoffs,” he said. “We then found humility. 2-7 was the next year and then after that we kept going, 5-4, 5-4. Had we played in the tournament in ‘92 as a 5-4 team, we would have done a lot of damage. That’s when it finally kicked in the year ‘92. Then in ‘93 we won a state championship, and after that we weren’t rebuilding, we were reloading.”

From 1989-2006, Peterson’s staff compiled a record of 148-49. Pontiac won 10 consecutive Corn Belt Conference Championships, made 15 State playoff appearances, including 14 in a row, and had two Final Fours, one State Runner-up finish and the State Championship in 1993.

Peterson has invited all of his former coaches back for what he is calling a magical mystery tour this weekend — “both magical and mystery how we are all able to get around at all,” Peterson said. They will be recognized in Friday’s season finale.

“When we get together, I think we’re going to realize what we did, helped out a lot of people, including each other,” he said.

Peterson guided Walnut to playoff appearances in each of his five seasons (9-5), including four straight 1A quarterfinal finishes. The Blue Raiders thought the world of him.

“Coach Pete was a motivator. He loved the game, but most of all he loved us,” said Kevin Geldean, a 1989 Walnut grad. “He made it family-like atmosphere. The football lessons he taught us really just prepared us for life. Hard work and determination in practice will pay off on game day, that is the same in life. God was always first also.”

Peterson says when football is in your blood, you just can’t stay away from it.

Sounds like a good idea to write a book, and in fact, Peterson has written four, including a Triology on the Hillsdale Hillmen, the first appropriately titled, “Once a Coach.” He penned his latest book, “The Derg-Oh Game,” during the pandemic, telling the story of Morris-Joliet Catholic quarterfinal game in 2005.

I especially liked all of Peterson’s references to his life’s experiences, including the Hillsdale quarterback, Kemper Shule, merging names of Walnut players Kemper Westfall and Greg Shule. The storyline of Hillsdale football was the head coach who was suspended for a recruiting violation, just like Peterson, and later reinstated when the allegations were unfounded.

The Hillsdale coach did retire at the end, unlike Peterson, who’s in the game for life.

BCR Sports Editor Kevin Hieronymus covered Peterson’s Walnut teams. Contact him at khieronymus@bcrnews.com