Throughout his years as Jim Thorpe’s quarterback, Cole Lazorick has often delivered when his team needs him the most.

Last Friday, the senior was at it again, as he turned in an outstanding all-around effort, getting the job done running, throwing, and punting — and most important — to lead the Olympians to a 35-21 victory over Bangor.

“That’s what Cole has been his entire career here, it’s do what it takes for his team to be successful,” said Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger. “He has a team-first mentality. He’s just a tremendous leader verbally, but also more importantly by example on the field and physically getting it done.

“When we needed to make a play offensively (on Friday), whether it was by his feet or by his arm, Cole was able to do that for us ... He can pretty much do anything on the field. He’s determined. He wills himself to do things. Then he’ll work at something until he masters it. And that’s what you need, you need your captain to be the hardest worker, and that’s what he embodies.”

After the Olympians got off to a somewhat slow start against the Slaters, Lazorick helped turn things around.

With the score tied 7-7, he broke free for a 57-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter to give his team the lead. In the second, he ripped off runs of 17 and 12 yards during a scoring drive that extended the advantage.

“(Bangor) came out ready to go, they punched us in the mouth and we got on our guys immediately and said we have to respond right now,” said Lazorick, who accounted for 226 yards of offense (139 rushing, 85 passing and two receiving) and three touchdowns to earn the Times News Football Player of the Week. “Once we did that, I feel like we got going a little bit and then we kept things going through the second half.

“We called the right play (on the touchdown run), went up the middle, we had one guy in the box at the time. Our guard did a great job of blocking him inside so I could get out, and I had to make two men miss and that was it. And the receivers sold it perfectly, getting a few guys out of the way and that led to ultimate success on the play.”

While the Olympians and Lazorick had success on the ground in the opening half, they couldn’t shake a determined Bangor squad looking for its first win of the season.

Lazorick, however, came up with clutch plays when they mattered most.

He completed his team’s opening drive of the third quarter by hitting Bobby Levins with an 8-yard scoring toss. After the Slaters answered, he connected with Spencer Gothard on a 49-yard pass that eventually led to a perfect 20-yard touchdown throw to Levins.

“Once we got into the second half, we started noticing a little different things that they were doing on defense than we prepared for so we saw a few things we could take advantage and we started throwing a little more,” said Lazorick. “But at the end of the day, we try to make it as balanced as we can, and we’ll take whatever the defense gives us.

“I love to throw the ball, being the quarterback since I’ve been a kid, I love doing that. But I also love having the ball in my hands with the opportunity to make a big play, and having my guys count on me saying if he has the ball, we trust him to get a big play. So I love doing both.”

Lazorick actually does more than both for the Olympians. He plays defense, is the team’s punter, and also the holder on extra points and field goals. And on Friday, he also caught one of his own passes when it was batted back to him.

His punting was crucial against Bangor, averaging over 46 yards per boot — including a 52-yarder.

“Any position that the coach is going to put me at, I have to do my best to try and be the best at it,” said Lazorick. “Whether that’s quarterback, cornerback, punter, I take pride in everything I do in this sport because I love it ... We definitely worked a little harder this offseason (on punting) trying to just get steps right, where I should hold the ball, where I should release it, and that led to some big plays on Friday.”

Lazorick’s willingness to do whatever is needed is obviously appreciated by his head coach.

“When we need someone, he’s the first person to give it a shot,” said Rosenberger. “We needed a punter two years ago and he said, ‘I’ll give it a shot.’ He did and he’s a really good punter. The same thing with holder. We lost our holder last year, and this year he said he’ll give it a shot, and he became our best holder. He’s just a super athlete.

“His ability to play four quarters is a testament to how hard he works. He’s going to leave as the all-time top quarterback in passing yardage, and he’s probably one of the best leaders we’ve ever had here. He’s just a high quality, high character kid that we’re going to enjoy here for a couple more weeks, but we’re going to surely miss him in the future.”