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A Hands-On Approach

DEEP RIVER — Valley Regional/Old Lyme football coach Tim King didn’t know if senior Dave Peck had it in him to play on defense, as he’d have to clobber someone.

The affable Peck didn’t know if he had it in him, either.

“I think it was a mental block,” said Peck, who never played defense until this season. “I’m not looking to kill anybody. I like catching the ball, more of a finesse (player). But it’s fun to hit somebody once in a while.”

Peck has led his team in both touchdown catches and interceptions this season. The top-seeded Warriors face No. 5 Brookfield in a CIAC Class M semifinal on Saturday at Cheshire High (2 p.m.).

Peck has been one of the top targets for Phil Cohen, Valley/Old Lyme’s quarterback and one of his best friends. Peck has 27 catches for 575 yards and 12 touchdowns.

The Warriors (12-0) needed help at cornerback earlier this season when Peck volunteered for the gig.

“I don’t know how you say this without being mean,” King said. “He’d rather intellectually beat you down … whereas you’d think a cornerback would come up and rip your head off.

“I think it was (defensive coordinator) Paul (Ginter) who said to (offensive coordinator) Kevin (Woods), ‘throw Peck in there.’ He’s a big kid. He’s 6-foot-1 or so. And sure enough, he went in and, wow, what a difference he made. He has five interceptions and has two pick-sixes (returns for touchdowns). He’s been a great corner for us. He’s done a wonderful job and, cripes, he’s only played (nine games) there.”

Peck is willing to hit, too.

“He comes up and gets the job done,” King said. “He’ll throw a shoulder in there.”

Peck said: “My teammates do give me a lot of flack whenever I actually do get a hit on somebody. I was always an ‘offensive specialist.’ That’s what they’d call it.”

Perhaps others wondered if Peck was willing to hammer somebody because he’s good natured. He dressed up as Steve “The Crocodile Hunter” Irwin this fall, as the homecoming theme was, “Safari Day.”

“He’s definitely my smartest friend,” Cohen said with a laugh. “He’s a goofy kid.”

Peck said: “My AP statistics teacher, Mr. (Louis) Zubek, is one of the (Old Lyme) basketball coaches. I played my freshman year, so we kind of have a little bit of a relationship there. Every time I do something, like forget a pencil or something, he’ll say, ‘20 push-ups,’ and I’ll have to get on the ground (and do them).

“This past week, I shot a (wadded up) piece of paper toward the trash can and missed it. He said, ‘20 push-ups.’ I said, ‘double or nothing.’ Missed it again, so I had to do 40.”

Peck has been as busy off the field as he’s been on it. He’s Old Lyme’s senior class president, the sports anchor for the school’s television news team, he’s taking three Advanced Placement courses this school year and carrying a 98 average. He’d like to play football and baseball at Bowdoin.

“You have to be a student-athlete,” Peck said. “My sister (Sarah) goes to Dartmouth, and my brother (Charlie) goes to the Naval Academy. So it’s not that I didn’t want to work hard, but the expectations were there.”

King said: “He always has a smile on his face and he does so many things. … He’s a pleasant, polite kid. He’s definitely going to be a successful young man in the future.”