Ty on the Fly

Lely’s 52-38 Senior Night win over South Ft. Myers Friday night turned into the Ty Collins Show as the scrappy junior rushed for 421 yards and seven touchdowns - all while making big plays on defense. If you add in his yards gained on pass receptions and kick returns, his total yards gained swells to 531 yards. By the way, he also handles the kickoffs - frequently making the tackle himself. 

Lely is still reeling from the loss of sophomore running back Nino Joseph, who was on pace to set area rushing records before a shoulder injury sidelined him two weeks ago in the Coconut Bowl against Naples. Last week it was senior receiver Gage Rice and junior quarterback Carter Quinn who put up the eye-popping stats. Rice with three touchdown receptions and 225 receiving yards; Quinn going 20-24 passing for 382 yards and five touchdowns.  

The one constant behind these incredible offensive stats? It’s the guys in the trenches, Lely’s offensive line. 

“They’re some beasts,” Ty Collins said of the guys blocking for him. “I never have to run up behind them. Never. Easy holes. I just ran fast through the holes. I was just thinking, ‘Run straight. Don't even juke. Run straight. Try to break a tackle and then juke if you need a juke. Just run straight.' The offensive line did their job today.” 

"They do a great job,” said Ben Hammer, Lely head coach, a former offensive lineman. "Coach Frank Tropfenbaum has done a really nice job developing those guys. They're young. We've got three seniors, two sophomores. We play another sophomore. We play a junior. Those guys have done a really nice job.” 

Hammer added a big building block to the line at mid-season when Duece Thornton was cleared to play after undergoing major knee surgery. The 6’4”, 290-pound lineman is like a coach on the field. After all, his dad is Lely offensive coordinator Tim Thornton, a state championship-winning coach from Illinois. Hammer’s first coaching job was on Thornton’s staff. 

“He's fantastic,” Hammer said of Duece Thornton. "He's tough, he's strong. He's obviously big. And he knows our offense. With his dad being the offensive coordinator since he was like six years old, he understands the way it all works and the angles and all that stuff." 

Of course, Hammer was plenty happy with Collins’ incredible performance, featuring touchdown runs of 25, 5, 30, 78, 29, 44, and 66 yards.  

“He'll probably tell you that football is like a side quest for him,” Hammer said. "He's also an all-state soccer player. He’s always going a million miles an hour, but he sure plays hard for his size. And he can go.” 

As usual, Collins was going all night. An extremely hard-hitting defender with a nose for the ball, he’s probably leading the state in tackles made by a kicker on kickoffs. Collins saw Joseph run for 424 and seven touchdowns in Lely’s 90-59 win over Barron Collier on September  27. It showed him what might be possible for himself. 

"I didn't even think I was going to be able to do it,” Collins said incredulously. "I saw Nino do it. That was unbelievable what he did against Barron. So crazy. I didn't think I was going to do it, but I did it. And then I've got to catch a flight to Arizona to go play in a soccer tournament at 4:45 a.m.” 

Collins says the conditioning required in soccer helps him on the football field. 

"I don't get tired,” he said. “Soccer just helps me not get tired. I catch cramps once in a while, but breathing-wise, I never really get tired.” 

South Ft. Myers (4-5) took advantage of three Lely fumbles and an interception that turned into a pick-6 to keep things close early. But Lely (5-4) turned a 20-12 halftime lead into a two touchdown win that didn’t seem that close. 

Hammer did everything he could to make sure he had Collins on the field Friday night. 

"We had to help get his flight changed and all that stuff just so that he was here tonight,” Hammer said. "So, he's going to Arizona, and he'll miss Monday's practice. We'll get him involved right away on Tuesday." 

Hammer hinted that Joseph, who had surgery on October 26, may be back in the fold if the Trojans make a deep playoff run. 

“We can't wait to get Nino back,” Hammer said. "You never know. We'll see. I'm not a doctor. But we're not here to lose games. We're gonna do what we can to win them all. You get to a regional final or something like that, and who knows?” 

Lely completes their season Thursday, November 7, at 7:30, when they host district rival Aubrey Rogers (4-5), coached by former Lely coach J.J. Everage. A win gives the Trojans a 3-0 district record heading into the playoffs.