Nick Breiner has Mahanoy Area's number.

One year ago, Breiner scored three touchdowns and rushed for over 100 yards in a dominant Tamaqua victory.Breiner did it to the Golden Bears again last Friday.The junior accounted for 240 yards of offense - 197 rushing and 43 receiving - to go along with two long touchdowns as the Blue Raiders rolled to a 34-7 victory."It feels great to be a part of the team, have the line do great for me to get these yards and to work hard, pushing people up front, and letting me score touchdowns and get yards," said Breiner, who garnered Times News Player of the Week honors with his performance against Mahanoy, just like he did last season."Nick is a hard worker in the offseason, and he brings it throughout the course of the year," added Tamaqua head coach Sam Bonner. "But it's great having a kid like that, that can break tackles. A lot of times he makes plays out of tackles where he should be getting tackled for a loss. So it's just great to have a kid like that, especially with his attitude."He does a great job doing well when the ball's in his hands, but he works really hard when the ball's not in his hands, too."Through the first two weeks of the season, Breiner has been electric, leading the area in rushing (320 yards, 10.32 yards-per-carry) and touchdowns (six).That athleticism was on full display last week. Breiner ripped off a 61-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, before adding a 59-yard score later in the game."It definitely sets the tone for the team," Breiner said. "Both offensively and defensively - we got stops, we scored; several people scored, and we just got the job done."Breiner's big night came as the Blue Raiders piled up 497 yards of total offense, including 127 yards from Nate Boyle, who also scored two touchdowns.Boyle, who is second in the area with 210 rushing yards this season, has given Tamaqua a dynamic one-two- punch in the backfield."It's great," Breiner said. "It gives people breaks when they need it, when they're tired. You can get somebody else in, and they have the same potential to do great things."But Breiner knows it all starts up front - on both sides of the ball."They really got on their guys, and pushed them down, made holes and our defense stepped up also," he said of the offensive and defensive line. "That's where it all starts, is up front. And if they do their job, good things will happen."That dominance in the trenches, along with solid quarterback play from Thad Zuber and Brayden Knoblauch, helped the Blue Raiders to a 42-0 win over Minersville in the season-opener before last week's rout of Mahanoy. Tamaqua has also done a great job with ball security, not committing any turnovers in the two victories.Now in his second year as the team's starting running back, Breiner leads by example."I try to lead the team, the seniors, they really step up," said Breiner. "Being a leader of the team really helps with everything. Being the starting running back, getting those touchdowns, really helps other people get on their game."So far, it's worked."In the Minersville game, I think he kinda had a big run for about 34 yards where he kinda ran over three or four guys and kinda put the game out of reach," Bonner said of Breiner. "This past week, it was very similar between him and Nate. They both kinda took control of the game early on. Our quarterbacks are doing a great job of kinda opening things up, too; they're hitting those big passes."Obviously, that's something we're going to have to look at, especially when we start facing some stronger fronts."Two weeks. Two wins.Breiner and the Blue Raiders are firing on all cylinders.