This week’s Overtime column will look at the highest scoring offense in the Times News coverage area - and look at what it does that makes it relatively unique among football teams at all levels.

In addition, Rod Heckman will look back on some big numbers during Week 2 and add some historical references to them.

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The Northwestern offense has been on a torrid pace through the first two weeks of the season.

The Tigers scored 49 points in their opener against Tamaqua, and followed that up with 48 points last week against Northern Lehigh.

Even more impressive than the total points is the fact that Northwestern’s starting offense has been on the field for 13 possessions during the opening two weeks and has scored touchdowns on 12 of them.

But this week’s Overtime column isn’t about the Tigers’ efficiency. It’s about how they are achieving it.

Northwestern’s offense is scoring its points by doing something that very few football teams do - or want to do. The Tigers are putting up their staggering numbers by using a two-quarterback system that features sophomores Shane Leh and Mason Bollinger both taking snaps under center.

Very few football coaches are comfortable rotating their quarterbacks - and very few teams that do it are successful.

“Both Shane and Mason have been sharing quarterback duties since probably their seventh grade seasons on the junior high team,” explained Northwestern coach Josh Snyder. “So it’s nothing new to them.”

It is new to Snyder, however. So he entered the offseason thinking that eventually one of the quarterbacks would win the job.

“Both kids played pretty well during 7-on-7 drills over the summer,” explained Snyder. “We still came into fall camp looking to see if one would separate himself from the other. But every day when it looked like either Shane or Mason was starting to take control of the position, the next day the other one would answer back and be the quarterback that looked better.

“We finally got to the point where we decided that they could both help us win and we were going to use both of them.”

Snyder is aware of the old football axiom that says ‘if you have two quarterbacks, you have none.’ And he knows why a lot of coaches adhere to that philosophy and won’t rotate quarterbacks.

“Quarterback is the one position where you don’t have multiple spots available,” Snyder said. “ Because of the uniqueness and importance of the position, most quarterbacks have egos. They want to be the man and they want to have others know they are the man. That’s why I think most of the time sharing the position doesn’t work.

“Fortunately for us, although both Shane and Mason are highly competitive and confident kids, they are also great teammates. Both have done a really good job of doing what is best for the team.”

With the starters getting less than five total quarters of playing time in the two mercy rule victories, Leh is 7-for-13 for 122 yards and one TD, while Bollinger is 6-for-10 for 75 yards and a touchdown. The pair have also combined to run the ball 10 times for 62 yards.

Snyder said he hasn’t come up with a set pattern for how he uses his quarterbacks. The Tigers don’t alternate every play, every series or every quarter. Instead, Snyder said he relies on his instincts and his “gut feeling” when it comes to who is going to quarterback a particular play.

“Shane and Mason have slightly different skill sets,” said Snyder. “They have different strengths that we try to take advantage of, but in general they are both very capable passers and runners, so we aren’t limited in what we can when a particular player is in the game.”

The Tigers also aren’t limited to having just one of them in the game at a particular time as both players have also seen work at wide receiver this season, with Bollinger catching a touchdown pass from Leh in the game against Tamaqua.

While Snyder said he sees no reason right now to do anything different with his quarterback situation, he made it clear that he and his staff are constantly evaluating the play at quarterback, as well as every other position.

“We will do whatever we feel gives us the best chance to win,” said Snyder. “Right now, we feel that playing both Shane and Mason does that.

“But as much as we want to fair to both of them, ultimately as the head coach my primary obligation is to do what is best for the team. So if there comes a point where we feel like going with one quarterback is best for the team, I won’t hesitate to do that.”

For now, however, Leh and Boillinger are doing their best to prove that old saying about having two quarterbacks wrong.

Because it’s obvious the way the Tigers are playing that a more appropriate saying would be ‘when you have two good quarterbacks, you have one great offense.’

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CATCH AND A PICK ... Marian’s Brandon Klitsch accomplished a rare feat during Friday’s 41-39 loss to Minersville. Klitsch not only caught a touchdown pass, but also scored after an interception.

The last time a Colts player scored on passes - both on offense and defense - was on Sept. 21, 2013, or 108 games ago.

Lukas Damian pulled it off against Conwell-Egan during a 28-13 victory. Damian caught a 66-yard TD pass from KJ Snerr and also had a 15-yard pick-six.

Speaking of Friday’s game, the 39 points scored by Marian are the most in franchise history during a loss. Its previous high was 36, when the Colts dropped a 62-36 decision to Pius X on Sept. 24, 2010.

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ECKER RUNS WILD ... Pleasant Valley’s Alex Ecker had a huge night last Friday against Dieruff, rushing for 302 yards and four touchdowns -and earning TN Player of the Week honors.

Over the past 35 years, only one other Bears player has run for more yardage in a game - Nasai Moon, who had 328 against Pocono Mountain East on Sept. 28, 2018.

During that time span, Ecker is just the 14th player from the Times News area to rush for at least 300 yards in a contest.

The senior running back also had a two-point conversion against the Huskies, finishing the night with 26 points. Since 1991, only two other PV players have scored more points in a game - Justin Richardson (32) on Oct. 14, 2016 and Austyn Borre (30) on Oct. 19, 2012.

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TIGERS SET RECORD ... Northwestern rolled to a 48-0 victory last Thursday over rival Northern Lehigh.

When the Tigers scored their first touchdown against the Bulldogs, it guaranteed them the 69th straight time they weren’t shut out - a new Times News area record.

Jim Thorpe held the previous mark of 68, which it accomplished between 2001 and 2007.

The last time Northwestern was held off the scoreboard was Sept. 8, 2017 when Palisades registered a 46-0 win.

Among other area teams, Palmerton also has an impressive streak intact, as it has scored in 48 straight games.

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SPEAKING OF NORTHWESTERN ... Something else rare happened in Northwestern’s win over Nolehi.

The Tigers had three players pass for at least 40 yards in the contest. Shane Leh threw for 87 yards, Mason Bollinger finished with 44 yards, and Brady Krimmel ended with exactly 40.

The last time that happened in the Times News area was Oct. 23, 2010 when, ironically enough, Northwestern accomplished the feat.

In that contest - which was 142 games ago for the Tigers - Ben Snyder had 127 passing yards, Josh Werley had 76 and Ty Cunningham had 48.

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PV PASSING ATTACK ... Panther Valley had an impressive passing attack last Friday, as it threw for 186 yards during a loss to Tri-Valley.

The Panthers managed just 28 yards on the ground, meaning they threw for 158 more yards than they accumulated on the ground.

The last time PV had that many more yards passing than rushing was Sept. 21, 2017 - or 55 games ago - against Lehighton when it had 210 passing yards and 31 rushing yards - a difference of 179.