What a difference a week has made for Tamaqua's Collin "Bud" Moyer.

After carrying the ball only eight times for 32 yards in the Blue Raiders' season-opening loss to North Schuylkill, Moyer exploded in Week 2 against Schuylkill Valley. The junior notched 29 carries for 226 yards and two scores, touching the ball on 62 percent of the team's rushing attempts.That outstanding effort not only helped Tamaqua earn its first win of the year, it also helped Moyer earn Times News Player of the Week honors for the second week of the season.While he may not have envisioned such a dazzling performance beforehand, Moyer knew his chances of being a significant part of the game plan were pretty good."I knew that we were going to run hard since our quarterback (Thad Zuber) was out," Moyer said. "So I knew I would be getting the ball a lot, but I didn't think I would be getting it as much as I did."Injuries to Zuber and others forced Tamaqua head coach Sam Bonner to shuffle his lineup, moving Moyer from his flanker position to tailback last Friday. That move, coupled with a run-first approach, allowed Moyer to break out against Schuylkill Valley."Usually in our offense, the tailback is the guy that's going to get most of the carries," Bonner said. "We were hoping that he would have a big game for us, and obviously he did. We knew that the possibility was there, so we weren't too surprised."Tamaqua's rushing attack was buoyed by strong play upfront all night, which allowed the Blue Raiders to more than double their rushing total from the season-opener against North Schuylkill."I think it definitely helps that he has Tyler Skripko in front of him as his fullback," Bonner noted. "He does a great job blocking for him and I think he (Moyer) would probably be the first one to tell you that."Moyer was quick to praise Skripko, who was the team's second-leading rusher with 39 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries."I really have to credit Tyler," Moyer said of his lead blocker. "He blocked hard on every play for me and helped make this possible."Another strong showing by the Tamaqua offense will be key this week as the Blue Raiders travel to Jim Thorpe to take on a 2-0 Olympian team that has outscored its opponents 81-0.It won't be easy, but Bonner thinks his squad is on the right track heading into what will be a critical Anthracite Football League game for both teams."We try to focus on improving every week, and I feel like we did that from North Schuylkill to Schuylkill Valley," the coach said. "For us to have success against Jim Thorpe, we're going to have to improve a lot this week."Obviously, I don't think we're going to be able to line up and run a power play 25 times (against Jim Thorpe) so we're going to have to have other guys contribute a lot more than they have in the past."While there are certainly still several unknowns for Tamaqua moving forward, one thing is certain: Moyer will be ready to play wherever he's needed."He's absolutely an unselfish player," Bonner said of Moyer. "So far this year, he's played three different positions on offense and two different positions on defense, and he never complains about anything."Right now, he's settled in at tailback and I think he's enjoying that position. But he has no problem playing any position on the field for us."If Moyer has his way, this Friday won't be much different for Tamaqua's offense."Our expectations are the same as last week, which is to establish the running game," Moyer said. "When it works, we're just going to keep going with it."