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NAPLES — In its second season under Mark Ivey, Barron Collier now seems completely settled into its spread offense, and with no shortage of playmakers on the field, it’s no wonder that the Cougars have scored 117 points in their last two games.

One player on the field, however, has keyed that offensive explosion. Consistently running four-receiver sets on the field, Quin Thornton has found a way to gain yards in bulk from his running back position.

After sitting out the first game of the season against Lely due to a violation of team rules, Thornton had to watch from the sidelines as the Trojans’ Darian Hall danced through the Cougars defense and led his team to a 42-21 win. Since then, Thornton has gone on a tear, and made up for the yards missed out on, by running for 168 against Golden Gate and 171 last week against Palmetto Ridge.

“The time that I missed that first week I took straight to heart,” Thornton said. “It made me realize how fast everything can be taken away, and since then I have worked twice as hard.”

Ivey is quick to commend Thornton, not only as a model player to his teammates, but as a model of work ethic as well. Ivey knows how special it is to have an athlete as gifted as Thornton who also takes pride in doing what is necessary to continue getting better.

“He worked out harder than any kid that I have ever seen over the summer,” Ivey said. “A lot of kids with his ability don’t get it done in the weight room because they don’t think they need to, but he actually enjoys it. I haven’t had a kid with anything close to his talent since (Cypress Lake’s) Tyson Butler — who ran a 4.3 40-yard dash. We timed Quin over the summer and he was sub-4.3.”

Coming into the season, Thornton might have had his sights set on 2,000 yards rushing, but he’s since tempered that goal after missing the first week. After a wake-up call of sorts, he’s put things back into perspective for this season — and helping his team in ways other than just coming out of the backfield. On the second play of last week’s game, he took a 48-yard pass from the slot straight to the end zone.

He still would like to come away with a little something, though.

“Now I’m looking more at 1,500 yards, but more importantly we’re just trying to repeat as district champs,” he said. “I love playing some wideout, but I’ll play wherever, I’m just trying to put my best foot forward.”

OTHERS CONSIDERED

Argeo Cruz, Immokalee, cross country: Won the boys Class 1A-2A title Saturday at the Spanish River Invitational. Led the Indians to a second-place finish out of 22 teams.

Bo Logan, Gulf Coast, football: Scored three touchdowns and gained 122 yards of offense Friday in the Sharks’ 35-17 victory over District 4A-15 rival East Lee.

Dennis Marcelin, Lely, football: Threw for three touchdowns and 272 yards while running for two more scores in the Trojans’ District 3A-14 win over Golden Gate on Friday.

Niko Pagkanlungan/Jake Delaney, Barron Collier, golf: Tied for medalist honors Thursday at the Collier County Athletic Conference meet by shooting 74s. The Cougars won their second straight title with a season-low score of 298.