Senior quarterbacks across the Times News area are preparing for their final high school football season, with Shane Leh from Northwestern Lehigh, Jayse Lawrence from Lehighton, and Cole Lazorick from Jim Thorpe ready to lead their teams.
Leh is coming off a strong junior season in which he was named Times News Offensive Player of the Year. Last year, he threw for 1,583 yards and 24 touchdowns while only having five interceptions. He also contributed on the ground with 401 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. Over his career so far, Leh has accumulated 3,316 passing yards and 47 passing touchdowns, along with 748 rushing yards and 16 scores. During his time as quarterback, Northwestern has achieved a combined record of 31-1 over the past two seasons and appeared in back-to-back PIAA Class 3A state championship games, securing a title last year.
Northwestern head coach Josh Snyder said about Leh: “Shane had a fantastic sophomore season and then he parlayed that into a great junior season for us as well (…) The way he finished off the season in the postseason, especially in the state playoffs, was tremendous. During the regular season we would get off to such fast starts that we didn’t really need to throw the ball or put too much on his plate. But then obviously in the state playoffs, you’re going to need to be more balanced against that level of competition and he delivered (…). Going into this season, he is faster and stronger; he has put on 30 pounds of muscle. We’re going to depend on him to run the ball for us more and help us carry the load a bit there. We’re also really excited about our passing game with the veteran receivers we have coming back. Shane is a veteran. He’s a leader. His command of the offense is tremendous. We’re excited to see him get out there and perform.”
Lawrence took over at quarterback partway through last year for Lehighton and helped spark his team late in the season with victories over Tamaqua, Jim Thorpe and an upset win against Blue Mountain in District 11 Class 4A playoffs. After settling into his role as starting quarterback, Lawrence led an offense that averaged thirty-five points per game during those wins. He ended last year with 1,247 passing yards (17 touchdowns vs ten interceptions) plus another 553 rushing yards with six touchdowns.
Lehighton head coach Tom McCarroll commented: “Later in the year, we really opened it up for Jayse. I think we could have done that earlier in the year, but when you have a new player taking over the quarterback position, you try not to put a lot on his plate. That probably wasn’t the best approach, because once we did do that, he really responded (…) Jayse is a really good dual-threat quarterback. Last season, you definitely saw that when we started to incorporate him more into our running game (…). This offseason he has really grown. He’s very confident, and he is extremely comfortable running the offense. He has become like a coach on field for us and has really turned into a great leader for us. I’ve also been impressed with his progression from a skill level. He’s throwing to guys open. He’s making the more difficult throws and he’s putting the ball in the tough spots, and he’s doing it with confidence. He played his best in some of our biggest moments last season.”
Lazorick enters his senior year at Jim Thorpe noted as one of most dynamic quarterbacks locally due to his athleticism—his speed combined with arm strength allows him to make unpredictable plays both running or throwing under pressure—and an ability expected again this fall by coaching staff.
Last year Lazorick passed for 2,059 yards (17 touchdowns; nine interceptions) while adding another eight rushing scores on top of three hundred sixty-eight rushing yards; career totals include nearly four thousand passing yards (34 TDs) plus over twelve hundred rushing yards (18 TDs).
Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger described Lazorick’s importance: “Cole is unquestionably our leader (…) He has done a great job this offseason of working with our young receiving core, being patient with them and coaching them up.” Rosenberger continued: “Cole is one of the best leaders we have had in the Jim Thorpe football program during my time here (…). He’s a true dual-threat player. One of the best around (…). His speed is impressive as he’s been running in the 4.5 range this offseason (…). He’s a dangerous weapon and his overall understanding of position mastery…has improved immensely as well (…). We expect him to have a huge year for us.”
The three seniors will be key figures throughout their final campaign this fall.
