The kid with the flopping blonde hair is quite the soccer player.

Cole Mertz, all of 5-9, 126 pounds, sprinted up and down the Northwestern Lehigh turf Thursday evening, doing what he does best — boot the ball to the back end of the net.

The standout junior forward was “The Show” for the Tigers (9-1) in punching home all four goals for his team in dismantling a pretty good Central Columbia (7-3) club, 4-1 in a non-conference action.

Mertz’s quick feet and his aggressive actions speak volumes.

“He is so impressive, and he is so difficult to defend, his speed and athletic ability is something to behold,” said Central Columbia head coach Zach Diehl.

Shoot, anyone watching the “jackrabbit” fly up and down the field in his foot-loose, fancy-free motion can readily get the feel the type of soccer player he is for Northwestern.

Truth be told, this wasn’t the first time Mertz scored four goals in a game. Believe it or not, this was his third such performance.

Despite the ability to score — seemingly at will — against the Bluejays, Mertz didn’t take the other guys lightly.

“They’re a pretty good team and coming in, we expected a really good game against them,” Mertz said. “We were expecting a really good matchup. They did put up a really good fight in the first half.”

They did, until Mertz began his one-man assault.

His first goal erased an early deficit.

Central Columba seized a 1-0 lead with 19:38 to play in the opening half on a Gaige Gensemer unassisted goal.

Then Mertz started to crank up his talents.

He tied the game with 12:27 showing before half as teammate Caelan Stangil picked up an assist.

“Caelan gave me a nice pass, and I was able to make the play,” Mertz said. “When Caelan gave me the ball, I just cut inside for the goal.”

Northwestern’s game plan was built around keeping the ball away from Central Columbia’s offense.

“The first half, I thought it was 50-50. In the second half, I thought we did a pretty good job of controlling the ball,” said Tiger mentor Nathan Hunsicker.

Hunsicker felt that Mertz’s special play was all about following through and getting in position.

“Cole did a great job finishing tonight,” said Hunsicker. “His teammates were looking for him, and he was in fortuitous position.”

Perhaps lost amid the Mertz scoring spree was the play of goalkeeper Dean Carl.

Like Mertz, Dean is a junior and he turned away seven would-be shots on goal in the opening half, and two in the second 40 minutes.

“The Jackrabbit” really started to come to the forefront in the second half.

Using his adroit moves and speed, Mertz kept blowing by a pretty strong defense the Jays tried to execute, but to no avail. Mertz plugged home his second goal of the evening with not quite six minutes elapsed off the clock in the second half with a blistering shot from 12 yards out.

Seven minutes after taking a 2-1 lead, Mertz completed a hat trick in part because of senior midfielder Logan Mesics, who provided the first of his two assists.

Leading 3-1, Northwestern sealed the outcome with another Mertz tally, this one a direct kick in front of the Central Columbia net. There was 7:33 remaining when Mesics found Mertz for the fourth score.

“Two of his shots were phenomenal,” Hunsicker said. “The boys were looking for him, but he has such quick feet.”

And unselfish teammates, too.

QUOTABLE I … “The reason we scheduled the game is because they’ve got a quality program, they’re always a state contender and it is a good game for our players to go up against such a good team,” said Central Columbia’s Diehl.

QUOTABLE II … “Realistically, this is a great test for us. Hopefully, it’s a team that we can see down the line (in the) state (playoffs),” Hunsicker said of the always District 4 contenders.

ANOTHER RUN? … Mertz and company can play the game with precision. They’ve had one loss in the past two seasons, and with each outing this club has a chance to go deep once again this season and possibly defend their state Class 2A championship.

Northwestern 4, C. Columbia 1

C. Columbia 1 0 - 1

Northwestern 1 3 - 4

Goals: Central Columbia - Gaige Gensemer 1; Northwestern - Cole Mertz 4; Assists: Northwestern - Logan Mesics 2, Caelan Stangil 1.

Records: Central Columbia (7-3); Northwestern (9-1).