Brayden Knoblauch couldn’t have asked for a better start.

Eager to build on one of the top seasons among area quarterbacks a year ago, the Tamaqua senior set the tone for 2019 with his most prolific performance behind center in last Friday’s season opener against Line Mountain.

Knoblauch’s school-record 347 yards passing and three touchdowns led the Raiders to a 40-0 victory over the Eagles and helped him claim Times News Player of the Week honors in the process.

Not a bad way to kick off the season.

“It means a lot, because it shows how hard I worked,” said Knoblauch. “It’s one of my personal goals to get some of the school records. It shows a lot with how hard I worked over the offseason, and then to go out and prove how hard I worked, it means a lot to me.”

And Knoblauch didn’t waste any time shifting the offense into high gear, hitting Matt Kistler for an 86-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage.

“We communicate very well off the field and on the field,” Knoblauch said of Kistler. “We know what each other’s going to do, so for us to have that communication, and that sense to know (what the other is going to do), it helps us a lot, both on and off the field.”

Kistler hauled in three touchdown passes and finished with a school-record 192 yards receiving on seven catches.

“They’re good friends, and they’ve been doing this kind of stuff since sixth, seventh grade,” Tamaqua head coach Sam Bonner said of Knoblauch and Kistler. “We knew those two guys had a special connection back in junior high. Fortunately, it’s carrying over to thier senior year.”

Knoblauch and Kistler were both among the best at their positions last season. Knoblauch ranked third in the area with 1,424 yards passing to go along with 13 touchdown passes, while Kistler was fifth among area wideouts with 551 yards receiving and seven scores.

But Knoblauch had no trouble spreading the ball around, coompleting passes to six different players. The Raiders maintained their run-pass balance, with 18 rushing and passing attempts.

Knoblauch was wickedly efficient, going 16-for-18 with just one incompletion in each half and no interceptions.

It was no surprise to Bonner.

“On Thursday at practice, I don’t know if he had any incompletions during the whole practice,” said Bonner. “We kind of expected him to come out pretty hot. I thought the way they were loading the box, taking away some of our run stuff, that it was great that Brayden was able to do what he was able to do. And it was also nice to see him hit six receivers.

“Obviously, Matty Kistler had a huge game for us ... but guys like Cody Hamm (two catches, 31 yards), who had a couple big catches; Pierce (Demetriades, one catch, 23 yards) made a nice catch; our tight ends had a couple catches. So it was nice to see other guys get into the mix. And obviously Nate (Boyle), the shut him down in the run, but he made some big catches.”

Boyle scored three short-yardages touchdowns and finished with 44 yards rushing on 14 carries. The senior added 89 yards receiving on four catches.

“To be honest, we were looking to run the ball, but they were loading nine guys in the box,” said Knoblauch. “So we were like, ‘OK, running’s not working, so let’s try and get the pass (going).’ And the passing was working for us, and we kept going with it.

“They were a great defense, they were a good team. We didn’t see any weaknesses, we just saw that they were loading nine guys in the box to start the game off, and we wanted to go over the top, and that helped us a lot.”

It was an incredible start for the Raiders, one they hope leads to a memorable finish.

“It gives us a lot of confidence, because we lost that heatbreaking district game last year,” Knoblauch said of the 40-33 to Notre Dame in the 3A semis. “So it gives us a lot of confidence to pick up where we started, because we know what everybody is capable of, we know what to do in those type of moments. So it gives us all the confidence to go out there, do what we have to do, and get that ‘W.’”