Under the lights at Santa Maria High’s Ralph Baldiviez Stadium on Oct. 8, Lompoc senior running back Jordan Collins had a night to remember.
In the Braves’ 51-7 drubbing of the Saints, Collins rushed for 130 yards on 11 carries, scoring three touchdowns on scampers of 28, 38, and 45 yards.
Lompoc High head football coach Andrew Jones said it’s not unusual for the 5-foot-9-inch sparkplug to perform feats of brilliance on the football field.
“When he gets in there, he’s a threat to take it to the house,” he said. “Most of the time he breaks one or two, or gets some long runs over 25 yards.”
Collins’ three touchdowns in the game gave him six for the season. He has 392 yards rushing on 61 carries—an average of 6.4 yards per carry—going into the Braves game against Morro Bay on Oct. 22.
“He’s a guy that’s going to get the forward momentum,” Jones said of Collins. “He runs hard and hits the hole. There’s not too much juking around in the holes. He’s a pure running back.”
While he’s not a starter, Collins typically plays an important relief role for the Braves, spelling a formidable rushing attack that includes senior Marcel Blow and sophomore Lavon Coleman.
“Between the three of them, usually one gets hot and breaks loose,” Jones said. “We’re lucky to have three backs that can do that.”
The Lompoc backs as a group have averaged 305 yards per game so far this season, leading the Braves to a 2-0 record in the Los Padres League and a 4-2 overall mark.
This article appears in Oct 14-21, 2010.