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Laguna Hills’ practice for its season-opening game came to a halt Monday as players and coaches left their positions to greet a courageous member of their football family.
The Hawks ran toward the entrance of their field to give a hero’s welcome to veteran assistant coach Dan Collins.
In December, the 67-year-old was in a motorcycle crash that left him mostly paralyzed.
For his return to practice, the players clapped and cheered as they huddled around Collins, who was seated in a wheelchair guided by Kay Collins.
“It means everything, everything,” Collins said of the support. “(Attending practice) was my first goal, beside getting home. (It’s) normalcy — getting back and helping out when I could.”
“I beat the odds,” the coach added. “They gave me a 3 percent chance of living, breathing, walking — which I haven’t been yet — (and) talking.”
Collins, who can slightly move his fingers and legs, has been watching film to help Laguna Hills prepare for its opener against Canyon on Friday at El Modena High.
In his meeting with players, he encouraged the Hawks to practice hard for the Comanches, who they beat 35-28 last season.
“I’m so glad he’s here and I’m just fired up to see him again,” senior middle linebacker Aaron Rastagar said of Collins. “I know he’s in his feisty moods again so I can’t wait to get back into that and him yelling and screaming at people. That’s how practice should be but it kind of died down once he left.”
Led by Laguna Hills coach John Lester, the Hawks have been supporting Collins’ recovery with visits and fundraising.
A GoFundMe campaign for an electrical wheelchair and a wheelchair-accessible van has raised just over 28,000.
Lester became emotional discussing Collins’ return.
“He’s a brother,” Lester said. “We have such a tight-knit coaching staff.”
Collins played at Estancia and collegiately at Long Beach State and Chico State.
In his 40-year coaching career, he been part of staffs at Trabuco Hills, Corona del Mar and Laguna Hills that claimed CIF-SS championships. He said high school football, however, is about more than victories.
“It’s the last realm of team sport,” he said. “In high school, you’re still playing for the team, and that means a lot.”
QUARTERBACK COMPETITIONS
Several teams have settled their quarterback competitions and named starters for their season-opening games this week.
A few of the notable starters announced by their coaches include: senior Andrew Acuna at Troy, senior Jake Meer at Newport Harbor, junior Kale Murphy at Servite, junior Noah Trujillo at Yorba Linda, sophomore Carter Anderson at Dana Hills and sophomore Dylan D’Epifanio at Northwood.
Yorba Linda will also play junior quarterback Colin O’Connor as it opens Thursday against Mayfair at SoFi Stadium.
SHORT ROUTES
Anaheim and Fullerton renew the oldest rivalry in Orange County football Thursday when the schools open the season at Glover Stadium.
The teams first played on Nov. 6, 1900 with Anaheim collecting a 2-0 victory, football historian Dennis Bateman said.
Fullerton and Anaheim will meet this week for the first time since 2013. That season, Anaheim coach Gus Martinez served as co-coach at Fullerton. …
Sonora will honor its 1975 CIF-SS championship team on Aug. 29 when it plays host to Northwood, said Sonora alumnus Jeff Reitz, now the defensive coordinator at Anaheim. Sonora edged El Dorado 7-6 for the AA title. …
Capistrano Valley will open against Barstow on Friday at Saddleback College. The Cougars are playing their home games at Saddleback College this fall while an on-campus stadium is being built. …
Edge Jackson Renger and linebacker/defensive back Lenny Ibarra each recorded eight total tackles in Los Alamitos’ 20-12 victory against Inglewood last week. “They are both hybrid players for us,” Griffins coach Ray Fenton said. “They were both outstanding.”