Collier, Sturzinger make each other better receivers

PERKINS TWP. — It's an impossible conundrum. Does a defense shade its help in the secondary toward Braylon Collier, the blazing-fast wideout on one side who creates separation no matter what route he runs? Or does the help go across the formation toward Weston Sturzinger, the long-striding deep threat who's also incredibly tough to bring down after the catch? There's really no right answer for Perkins' opposition, which allows the Pirates to read the defense and free up whichever Division I prospect is set to be more open. "It's very powerful," Perkins quarterback Logan Lesch said. "Having two guys of that high of caliber, you can't cover them both. You can double team one of them, but the other one goes off." The immense talent of Perkins' star junior wide receivers will be more crucial than ever on Friday night in a regional final matchup with Glenville at Elyria. The Tarblooders have Ohio State commit Bryce West at one of their cornerback spots, with another senior, Micquan Gravely, on the other side. The Pirates' dynamic duo is up for the challenge. "They have good attitudes, and they love to see each other succeed," Lesch said. "... They love each other in the locker room, and this team is just incredible. I love being part of the brotherhood." Collier and Sturzinger recognized from the beginning how special this season could be. In a preseason goal-setting session, they determined they wanted to each get to 1,000 yards on the season. In the regional semifinal win over West Holmes, Collier moved into four digits and currently sits at 68 catches for 1,073 yards and 16 TDs. His receptions and yardage are single-season Perkins records. Sturzinger is almost there, at 924 receiving yards on 47 catches with 10 touchdowns. "Everybody looked at us like we're crazy," Sturzinger said. "But he's already at 1,000." "And Weston's not too far away," Collier added. "That would be nice." The duo recognizes how important the other is to their success. They push each other in practice, knowing that the more prepared the other one is, the better things will work out on game night. "We're always competing to see who can get the most catches and least amount of drops in practice," Collier said. There's no need for one to get jealous of the other's production. In this offense, with its read-and-react approach to the defense, a good stretch by Collier or Sturzinger means the other's turn is coming. "Weston can take the attention away from me, and we can both do that for each other," Collier said. Perkins' 49-14 win over Edison in Week 7 provided the prime example. Collier burst out of the gates and caught three touchdowns in the first half. By halftime, the Chargers' entire secondary was rolled over toward Collier. "He uses his speed not only to get past guys on long routes, but also breaking down to run slants and digs and all those other routes that he's good at," Sturzinger said. That freed up Sturzinger, who caught touchdowns four, five and six on the night from Lesch, including two deep routes that didn't have safety help because that was all headed toward Collier. "He uses his speed to his advantage on his post routes," Collier said, "and he has a really nice comeback that's a really good route for him." When combined with all of Perkins' other offensive weapons — running back Isaac Bunts, tight end Kaiden Nixon and receivers Brady Legando and Wyatt Nemitz — there are no easy answers to the test of slowing down the Pirates. "It makes everybody's life easier when you have players that are as dominant as they are," Santoro said. "(Collier and Sturzinger) really love football. They work super hard at what they do, and the results kind of speak for themselves the last two years here." Sturzinger is also a leader of Perkins' defense from his safety spot, which he has held down since his freshman year. He has 49 tackles and three interceptions this season. Earlier this fall, he took a gameday recruiting visit to Michigan, which has stayed in contact. "He's very disciplined (defensively), good with his eyes," Collier said. "He stays focused on his assignment and does his job." Collier has grown into a two-way player, too, helping out at cornerback this fall. He's also Perkins' punter. Sturzinger and Collier both have garnered interest from a handful of Mid-American Conference schools, too. "We talk about going to the same college," Collier said. "That'd be pretty cool if that could actually happen." This tandem and the rest of Perkins have heard all about Glenville's speed. The Pirates would counter with the idea that they're fast, too, especially at their top two wideout spots. That makes for a tantalizing showdown on Friday night. Even Glenville will likely have to pick its poison between Collier and Sturzinger. And this pair will be just fine no matter whose turn it is to shine, because they believe in each other so fully. "If he does something really well, it makes me want to do something even better," Collier said. "And then he wants to do something even better, and it keeps going on and on."