Collier finds plenty of running room for Spartans

LYNN – Jordan Collier made sure not only that his team won Tuesday night in the EMass Division 4 playoff game, he made sure that all the Spartans who came before him – and who came so close – knew that this victory was for them, too.And that would obviously include his brother, Todd.Collier ran for 279 yards on 16 carries Tuesday in the Spartans’ 36-8 win over Shawsheen, but the bigger news there is that his three touchdowns came on runs of 66, 64 and 85 yards ? and if it’s possible to measure touchdowns by degree, they were all crucial.The first one came after a couple of tense possessions by Shawsheen, one that saw the Rams go all the way to the Spartan seven before petering out; and the other going onto the St. Mary’s side of the field as well.It was after that possession that Collier, on his own 34, read the position of the Shawsheen linebackers, went on one of his patented sweeps, and was off to the races for a 66-yard TD score.”I was able to see what they were doing,” he said, “and I just followed my blockers.”The second one was perhaps the most impressive. St. Mary’s has a play where Collier circles around the backfield, and then takes the handoff while coming straight up the middle. It’s a staple, and it’s not specifically designed for a big play as much as it is to grind out yardage and keep the chains moving.Only this time, Collier did the Spartans one better. He took it straight up the middle and ran untouched 64 yards for the score that made it 22-0 in the third period.No. 3 was an 85-yarder in the third quarter that put even more distance between St. Mary’s and the Rams. On this one he used the only part of the field he hadn’t used to that point – the right sideline – and ran all the way to the end zone chased by Shawsheen’s Paul DePlacido, who almost caught him at the one-yard line. Collier said he wasn’t used to being chased like that.”I was a little nervous,” he said. “But I knew I had to keep on running. I wasn’t going to stop.”Afterward, Collier was only sorry he wasn’t able to see the wealth spread around a little. He was happy that his backup (Connor Sackowich) got a touchdown, but wished his running-mate in the backfield, Jordan Manthorne, had scored.”We kept running plays his way, but they kept stopping them,” Collier said.Manthorne, however, did go over the 100-yard mark (109 yards on 15 carries).”Before the game,” Collier said, “we talked about how we wanted this for ourselves, but also for all the teams that came close.”My brother (who plans to be in attendance Saturday for the Super Bowl) played on three great teams, and I think all of them could have gone (to the Super Bowl),” Collier said. “This was for them, as much as it was for us.””We’ve built a good program, I think,” Spartans coach Matt Durgin said. “And those kids who came before ? they’re the ones who have built it. They deserve to feel a part of this too.”Steve Krause can be reached at [email protected].