The troops are rallying around Porter Hancock. Calls from as far away as Texas have made their way to the desk of South Summit head coach Jerry Parker, asking what can be done to help.

The South Summit junior linebacker suffered a dislocated neck in last Friday night’s game against Emery and remains hospitalized with paralysis below his chest, according to Parker.

Parker also said Utah State University head football coach Gary Andersen visited Hancock this week in the hospital.

“Gary called and went out of his way. He did it,” Parker said. “They got it arranged. It was awesome. (Porter) was pretty excited and pretty pumped about it.”

According to Hancock’s mother Jill, Porter was put in a wheelchair and wheeled around the hospital Thursday.

Jill  has been posting regular blog updates on her son’s conditionon the South Summit football team’s website, .

In a post Wednesday, she wrote: “Porter had a little bit of rough night. He had some mucus in his lungs. They are trying to keep it from turning into pneumonia. No change in feeling or movement in his legs. His spirits are strong. Hopefully we can get his lungs cleared up soon, so he can continue with rehab. Thanks for all the prayers and thoughts.”

According to Parker, physicians were trying to move Hancock out of the intensive care unit sometime Thursday.

“I saw him last night,” Parker said. “I was pleased with it. I thought he looked good.

“He’s getting stronger and using an apparatus on his hand, so he can feed himself now.”

Parker added that the team will have patches with the No. 26 sewn onto each uniform for Friday night’s game at Gunnison. He said other South Summit teams and clubs will have patches featuring Hancock’s name.

Steve Smith of Oakley is one of many members of the community who is lending a helping hand. Smith said his son is also a junior at South Summit High School and is one of Hancock’s friends.

“If you’re a parent with kids, you feel it and you feel a little bit helpless, honestly,” he said. “You just feel like there’s not a lot you can do. I’m not a doctor or expert in the area, so I thought, ‘What can you do to help? What you can do is help alleviate financial stress.'”

Smith and his family came together and found a way to help.

“On our Deer Meadows Ranch, we do honey every year; we have a number of hives and just finished our annual honey harvest,” he said. “We have lots of honey we have not sold yet.”

The “Honey for Hancock” fundraiser will take place Saturday, Oct. 15, at the Kamas Foodtown in Kamas and at Dutch’s Service Station in Oakley from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Smith said several hundreds of pounds of honey will be available for purchase, along with T-shirts and hooded sweatshirts featuring Hancock’s name and No. 26.

Smith said he and other fundraising organizers have over 20 businesses willing to match Saturday’s donations to a certain cap. By Saturday, he hopes to have more than 30 businesses in the mix.

“The community cares and at the end of the day, the community wants to do everything they can,” he said. “That’s the whole vision for fundraising.”

A student dance this Saturday will be held in the small gym at South Summit High School and students from neighboring schools have been invited. The hours are 9 to 11:30 p.m., and the cost for a single ticket is $5, a couples ticket is $8.

Along with the events Saturday, there will be a number of fundraisers next week. A silent auction is planned for the first playoff game against Grand on Oct. 20, from 1 to 6 p.m., in the small gym at the high school.

Funds will also be raised at a tailgate party on Oct. 20, beginning at 2 p.m.

For a full list of events and activities, visit: http://www.ssummit.k12.ut.us/HighSchool.cfm?subpage=1394569 .

To read the blog on Hancock’s condition, visit: http://www.sswildcatfootball.org/sswildcatfootball/Blog/Blog.html .