Two young teams getting healthier and coming off much-needed victories in Week 5.

An improving Jim Thorpe squad will head to the Stadium on the Hill to face off with Tamaqua in the Times News Game of the Week Friday night.

The Olympians (2-3) have made the midseason switch from a run-first offense through the first few weeks of the season to now an explosive passing attack. Thorpe has been putting up some big numbers through the air and is now averaging 190 passing yards per game.

Jim Thorpe sophomore quarterback Cole Lazorick threw for 263 yards and four touchdowns last week in a 47-7 win over Pine Grove, hooking up with his top target on the season in Justin Yescavage seven times for 192 yards.

The Olympians’ improved passing attack has also helped them put up bigger numbers on the scoreboard. Through Thorpe’s first two games of the season, it was averaging just seven points per game, but over its last three contests the Olympians have averaged 38.6 points per game.

“I think you can look at two major components on why we are playing better football. One, our younger kids are gaining experience and confidence. They’re getting better every day at practice, and they’re getting better with the reps they’re getting in games. Two, we’re getting healthier,” said Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger. “We’re starting to get some of our veteran players back who were injured earlier in the season and that has been key for us.”

Lazorick, who has passed for 904 yards and 10 touchdowns, and Yescavage, who has hauled in 27 balls for 666 yards and five touchdowns, will be a main focus for the Tamaqua defense come Friday night. Lazorick has also done damage with his legs, rushing for 307 yards and five touchdowns.

“Their quarterback, Lazorick, he’s a tough kid. He’s been getting better every week, and he has been developing nicely for them. And he can also run the ball, and he runs hard,” said Tamaqua head coach Sam Bonner. “We have to be able to play smart and not make mistakes. We can’t let up the big play. Limiting their big plays will be a really big key for us.”

Both the Tamaqua (1-4) offense and defense got it going last week against Salisbury. The Raiders - who have also been missing some key starters due to injury - got some of those players back against the Falcons. The Raiders’ offense tallied 265 yards, 16 first downs and 49 points and the defense allowed just 140 yards of total offense.

Tamaqua got most of its yards against Salisbury on the ground as it rushed for 221 yards and seven rushing touchdowns. Bradley Whalen rushed eight times for 81 yards and two touchdowns. On the defensive side of the ball, Luke Kane - who also serves as the Raiders’ signal caller - came away with an impressive 17 tackles.

“We put a huge emphasis on going into the game that we needed to get a win last week. And you knew they were coming in hungry as well, sitting at 0-4, so we knew it was going to be a hard-fought game,” said Bonner. “Right now, we’re just really young up front. We’re playing a lot of sophomores. We are getting better and gaining confidence, and it was also big for us to get some guys back from injury last week. We’ve been playing most of the season without our starting tailback and tight end, which really impacts us because of how we like to run the ball. But we got some of those guys back. So, we just need to continue to develop and work to get better every day.”

The Jim Thorpe defense has looked much better over the past three weeks as well after surrendering 35 points to Blue Mountain in Week 1 and 39 points to Bangor in Week 2. Over the past three weeks, Thorpe is giving up only 17 points per game. Last week against Pine Grove, Thorpe allowed just 129 yards of total offense.

“Coach Bonner and his staff always doing a good job of preparing and getting their team ready to play, so we’re looking forward to another challenge this week. They’re a team as well that is getting healthier, and we always know to expect a physical battle up front,” said Rosenberger. “They have a big strong quarterback over there that we will need to contain. Overall, we have been getting better every day at playing assignment football. We need to continue that trend this week for sure.”