Northwestern senior Deven Bollinger has become the team’s leading all-time passer, led his team to the District 11 semifinals last season, and has a commitment to the University of Delaware in his back pocket. With all of that on his resume, he still prefers to talk about his teammates and what lies ahead for him and the team – along with one thing he wants to check off his high school bucket list.

“All throughout, with Trevor Cunningham, Phil DeAngelo and other seniors, they showed me what it was like to be playing your last year of high school football with your buddies,” recounted Bollinger. “Last year, we got so close and it laid a foundation for our seniors this year, so the seniors this year want to go out on a high note and lay another foundation for next year.”

As for that bucket list, Bollinger is ready to check off another item Friday night. The Tigers play at Southern Lehigh (6-0), and Bollinger has never beaten the Spartans in his high school career. A win Friday would take away that blemish, and also put the team a step closer to a return trip to districts.

“I haven’t beaten them personally, so that’s a bit of a factor for me,” admitted Bollinger.

Bollinger’s 290 passing yards and four touchdown throws last week against Palmerton earned him the Times News Player of the Week honor. In usual fashion, when he learned of the honor, the first words out of Bollinger’s mouth were about how well the rest of the team played.

“First off, it starts with the offensive line,” said Bollinger. “They’ve been great this season, and have given me a lot of time to throw the ball. Then, the receivers, Justin [Holmes] and Jayden [Allen] have had time to run routes, and they’ve done a great job at getting open. It’s the other guys that make things work. Last week, things worked really well and the receivers did a great job of getting open, and I was able to see the field really well.”

Bollinger went on to talk about how the offensive line has developed over his four seasons as the team’s quarterback. How they went from being good in his freshman and sophomore seasons to being an elite offensive line in the past two seasons. In addition to talking about the line and the receivers, he spoke of running back Nick Henry and how he has helped to open up the passing game with his ability to grind out yards on the ground.

The fact is that Bollinger sees the value of the other players around him, and how they have helped to make him better. Especially when you’ve rushed for over 450 yards and thrown for just over 1,200 more, with 21 touchdown passes in six games, it’s not all about the other players.

One of the things that Bollinger is excited to talk about is the future. He’ll play college football at Delaware, a team that edged Penn a couple weeks ago, and lost to Pitt by just three last weekend. The 6-2 quarterback and defensive back is excited about what lies ahead in his time at the University of Delaware.

“I’ve been down there a couple of times to see games,” said Bollinger of his future home. “They played a great game against Penn, and beat them a couple weekends ago. This past weekend, losing to Pitt by just three points was huge for them to compete with a top program.

“It’s a huge opportunity to play for such a great program. Joe Flacco (NFL quarterback with Baltimore and Denver) went there and had Jared Ambrose (current Delaware offensive coordinator) as a graduate assistant when Flacco was there, and he worked with him. I’m sure it’s going to be a great experience.”

It’s worth noting, too, that Bollinger isn’t just a quarterback. He takes the defensive side of the ball very seriously, and wants to be out there for every play. Two weeks ago against Bangor, Bollinger hauled in his first interception of the season, and against Palmerton, raced down a Bombers receiver to prevent a touchdown.

“I personally enjoy playing defense,” said Bollinger. “Especially when we don’t get the ball first. It just keeps me more involved in the game and gets you into the flow and the pace of the game. I don’t want to be sitting on the sideline watching the other team’s offense. Personally, I like to get out there and be more involved.”