Collins’ 149 Yards, Three Touchdowns Help Loara Bury Katella

The past two seasons, Coy Collins, Loara High School running back, has watched Katella beat his team and prevent it from going to the playoffs.

Two years ago, when Collins was a sophomore, he muttered to himself about paying back the debt, but as a junior he couldn’t make good on his words because he was sidelined with an injured ankle.

Collins finally got his chance Friday night at Glover Stadium, making the the most of it as he rushed for 149 yards, scored three touchdowns--one on an 80-yard punt return--and led Loara to a 27-0 Empire League victory over Katella.

“If we could have won only one game all year, I wanted it to be this game,” Collins said.

And he did just about everything on Loara’s first drive to ensure just that. Starting on their own 41, the Saxons (6-0-1, 2-0) drove to the Katella 25 with Collins rushing three times for 25 yards. With a fourth-and-one, Collins got the ball and went left, broke through the Katella line, faked two defensive backs to the ground and dashed into the end zone.

Collins would rush for 85 yards in 10 carries in the first half, but missed part of the second quarter with a sprained wrist. With him out, the Loara offense didn’t go anywhere.

The Katella offense wasn’t exactly standing still. It managed to get into Loara territory twice in its five first-half possessions, but each time Katella got close, the drive stalled.

The first half ended with Loara leading, 7-0. The Saxons got the ball to begin the second half and started on another scoring drive. This one started from their own 35, and once again Collins, now wearing a protective pad on his left wrist, was the driving force.

With Loara on the Katella 15, Collins, who rushed for 48 yards on the drive, once again went to his left. This time there was no need for fakes, the Loara offense virtually sealed up the entire Katella defense, and all that was left for Collins was to simply sprint the 15 yards for the touchdown.

Katella (0-2, 2-4-1) was forced to punt after the ensuing kickoff. Collins took the punt at his own 20, was hit, twirled, cut to the sideline, then back into the middle of the field and proceeded to run past every defender on his way to an 80-yard touchdown return.

“My biggest concern was not getting caught from behind,” Collins said. “It was basically a run for life.”

Which sounds desperate. But Collins’ play appeared anything but. He seemed able to break a play every time he got the ball.

“Things went well today,” said Collins, who has rushed for 1,227 yards in seven games this season. “I’m satisfied. I’m very satisfied.”

Loara scored its last touchdown when Brett Banta caught a 14-yard scoring pass from Sean Conner in the fourth quarter.

The Loara defense took care of everything else. Katella never got into Loara territory in the second half, being limited to only 31 yards over the last two quarters.