ORANGE COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL : Empire League : Collins Comes on Strong, Leads Loara to 27-24 Win

Loara High School’s Coy Collins could not be stopped Thursday night, neither by injury nor by the El Dorado defense.

Collins, a sophomore tailback, twisted a knee in practice Monday, and his status was questionable at game time. However, he came off the bench to rush for 170 yards in 17 carries to lead the Saxons to a 27-24 Empire League victory in front of 1,000 in Handel Stadium.

“I was itching to be in there,” said Collins, who made his first appearance with 3 minutes 39 seconds left in the first quarter. “I felt like I had to be in this game.”

The Golden Hawks had two chances to win the game in the fourth quarter, but Loara turned them away. Danny Rodriguez deflected a Kevin Schula pass in the end zone on a fourth-down play with 4:19 remaining, and Don Bradshaw intercepted Schula to ice the game with 2:53 left.

Collins rushed for 141 yards in the second half, the bulk of which came on a 69-yard touchdown run with 10:09 left in the third quarter. He also caught 4 passes for 37 yards during the game, including a 14-yard touchdown reception from Bill Jarman in the second quarter.

El Dorado’s Chris Olsen rushed for 188 yards in 34 carries. However, he also provided the Saxons with their first scoring opportunity.

Bob Nevin kicked a 47-yard field goal with 3:44 left in the first quarter to give the Hawks their only lead, 3-0. On El Dorado’s next possession, Olsen fumbled and Loara’s Bob Titus recovered.

On the next play, tailback Randy Holcomb threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Rodriguez for a 7-3 Loara lead.

Jarman connected with Collins for a touchdown with 7:21 left in the first quarter and then ran 20 yards for a touchdown with 4:09 left.

Schula, who was 9 of 20 for 167 yards, kept the Hawks close with a second-quarter touchdown pass to Chris Facione, covering 20 yards, and a 7-yard scoring pass to Robert Coon in the third quarter.