Gary Collins may not be mentioned in conversations about the all-time greatest players in NFL history.

He should be.

A Williamstown native, Collins starred as a wide receiver and punter for 10 seasons in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns from 1962-71. The two-time All-Pro finished with 331 career receptions for 5,299 yards and 70 touchdowns, numbers that many experts feel should earn Collins induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Friday, Williams Valley will honor the now 84-year-old Collins by retiring the No. 44 jersey he wore with the Williamstown Rams before the Vikings’ Schuylkill/Colonial Blue Division game against Mahanoy Area at Gerry Stauffenberg Field at Viking Stadium.

“It will be great to have him around the kids, let them see a little bit of history,” Williams Valley athletic director Ben Ancheff said by phone Wednesday.

Collins earned 12 varsity letters at Williamstown High School, excelling in football, basketball and baseball for the Rams. The 1958 grad was an outstanding pitcher for the baseball team, high scorer for the basketball team and led Williamstown to an undefeated football season in 1957. He was sought after by several Major League Baseball teams and received 82 college football scholarship offers.

Collins chose to attend Maryland, where he received honorable mention All-American honors as a sophomore and junior. He broke several Atlantic Coast Conference records as a receiver, played in the East/West Shrine Game, Senior Bowl and All-American Bowl and finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy voting as a senior in 1961.

Collins was taken in the first round, fourth overall, by the Cleveland Browns in the 1962 NFL Draft. He had three seasons (1965, ’66, ’69) with 50 or more catches and four seasons (1963, ‘ 65, ’66, ’69) with double-digit touchdown receptions, including an NFL-best 13 in 1963. He also led the NFL in punting in 1965 with a 46.7-yard average.

Named to the NFL’s 1960s All-Decade Team, Collins was voted the Most Valuable Player in the 1964 NFL Championship Game when he caught three TD passes in the Browns’ 27-0 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. In eight career playoff games with the Browns, he hauled in 19 passes for 275 yards and five touchdowns.

Williams Valley has had several of its athletes play professionally in a variety of sports. Collins is the greatest of that bunch, and it’s great to see the school honor him in this fashion.

Immediate Impacts

Two freshman running backs made immediate impacts for their respective teams in Week 1.

At Tri-Valley, Parker Hatter had 14 carries for 77 yards and two touchdowns in the Dawgs’ 36-16 victory at York Catholic. Tri-Valley coach Jeff Sampson said the 5-foot-10, 165-pounder came in when a couple of the Dawgs’ players were hampered by cramps and thrived in the limelight.

Hatter excelled in the summer as a pitcher for the Hegins Teener League team and has been a standout athlete in the youth ranks. Looks like he has a promising future.

At Williams Valley, Fletcher Thompson carried the ball 21 times for 92 yards in the Vikings’ 21-7 win over Upper Dauphin. With three-time All-Stater Alex Achenbach lost to graduation, Williams Valley head coach Stephen Sedesse said in the preseason that he was looking for someone to emerge as the Vikings’ top tailback. Thompson looks like he’s it.

The 5-9, 165-pound Thompson is a Williams Valley legacy player. His dad Brian, who has been a midget coach for Williams Valley in recent years, was a standout tailback for the Vikings in the early 1990s.

The elder Thompson went on to become Lycoming College’s all-time leading rusher with 3,267 yards from 1995-98 and scored 28 career touchdowns. Thompson was passed on the all-time list in 2014 by Craig Needhammer, who is the current record-holder with 3,713 yards.

The Warriors were a NCAA Division III powerhouse during Thompson’s time in Williamsport, as Frank Girardi’s club went 41-6 over those four years. As a senior, Thompson helped Lycoming go 12-1, score NCAA playoff victories over McDaniel, Trinity (Tx) and Rowan and reach the NCAA Division III national championship game, where the Warriors fell 61-12 to Mount Union.

Poise in the Pocket

Maybe it was the No. 7 jersey.

Maybe it was his height, the way he stood in the pocket or his arm strength.

But as I watched Tamaqua quarterback Luke Kane make big plays Saturday in the Blue Raiders’ win at Pen Argyl, I couldn’t help but think he looked a lot like a young Ben Roethlisberger.

Standing 6-2, Kane made a series of big plays in Tamaqua’s 38-7 win. In most of them, he bought time in the pocket with great poise and presence, rolling out or stepping up when needed.

There are several good quarterbacks in our area this season, but Kane might be the best pure pocket passer of the bunch.

Stat leaders

The area’s statistical leaders after Week 1 were posted on the T102SportsNow.com website on Wednesday afternoon. You can find them here:

Area HS football statistical leaders

North Schuylkill’s Luke Miller (29-198, 4 TDs) and Marian’s Rory Dixon (21-191, TD) sit atop the rushing leaders, as eight local players rushed for more than 100 yards in Week 1.

Minersville’s Dante Carr (9-12, 270, 4 TDs) and Cole Lazorick (14-26, 266, 4 TDs) lead the area QBs in passing yards, while Pottsville’s Tsirell Curry (4-119, TD) is the area’s leading receiver.

Odds and Ends

** North Schuylkill climbs to No. 1 in this week’s SportsNow Super 7 poll after the Spartans’ big win over Mount Carmel and Blue Mountain’s victory over preseason No. 1 Schuylkill Haven. The Eagles are No. 2, with Haven and Minersville tying for third.

Get the complete Week 2 poll here:

https://www.t102sportsnow.com/2024/08/28/week-2-sportsnow-super-7-poll-spartans-climb-to-no-1/

** The second episode of the T102SportsNow 4^th and Short podcast with myself and Eli Doyle is now available here: https://www.t102sportsnow.com/4thandshort/. The podcast is also available on YouTube.com by visiting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2I2EpUUHv8&t=1943s

This week, Eli and I are joined by Touchdown Tip panel members Jim Misstishin and Jerry Misstishin, who are both PIAA football officials. Get their breakdown of what it’s like to be a PIAA football official, and how you can become one. In addition, the four of us will analyze Week 1 and break down Week 2.

Eli and I would like to take Week 3 on the road. Where should we go? Let us know.

Week 1 Honor Roll

Luke Miller, North Schuylkill — The Fanelli, Evans & Patel T102SportsNow Athlete of the Week, Miller rushed for 198 yards and four touchdowns in the Spartans’ win over Mount Carmel.

Cole Lazorick, Jim Thorpe — The junior QB threw for 266 yards and four scores and rushed for 127 yards and two more TDs in the Olympians’ win over Palmerton.

Blue Mountain Offensive Line — Eagles’ QB Brady Strause and RB Tyler Stahley had big nights and senior WR Gaige Guers had a key touchdown catch, but the difference in Blue Mountain’s win over Schuylkill Haven came up front behind an offensive line of four sophomores and one junior: Hunter Reichart, Dylan Foose, Vaughn Helverson, Ryan Clemas and Kurt Krammes.

Noah Dolbin, Nativity — The senior WR became the school’s all-time leader in touchdown receptions with two TD grabs in rout of Holy Redeemer.

Rory Dixon, Marian — Sophomore RB rushed 21 times for 191 yards and a touchdown in Colts’ shutout win over Hanover Area.

Dante Carr, Minersville — Junior QB completed 9-of-12 passes for 270 yards and four touchdowns while rushing four times for 120 yards and a TD in Miners’ rout of Halifax.

Niko Carestia, Schuylkill Haven — While the junior struggled to get going offensively, he shined from his linebacker position with 15 tackles and a pick-6 for a touchdown.

Victor Schlosser, Tamaqua — Senior speedster had nine carries for 147 yards and a touchdown and caught three passes for 78 yards in Raiders’ win over Pen Argyl

Parker Hatter/ Fletcher Thompson — See above