Pressed to pick a favorite, Connor Dillon couldn’t decide.

“I definitely like running routes. It’s fun trying to just go right by people and everything,” said the Tamaqua junior. “But I like running the ball also. I feel confident doing both.”

And he showed it last Friday against Lehighton.

Dillon ran for 107 yards, had 134 yards receiving and scored three touchdowns to lead the Blue Raiders to a 32-29 victory over the Indians.

The performance helped Tamaqua secure its first win of the season, and earned Dillon Times News Football Player of the Week honors.

“It was great,” said Dillon. “I knew I had to do my part. The linemen, they were great; had big holes for me to run through. We were definitely more balanced this week, with the pass-run game. And we definitely knew that we needed the win.”

Dillon caught two touchdown passes in a first half where he had over 100 yards receiving to help the Blue Raiders (1-1) build a 26-14 advantage.

But an injury to senior running back Warren Stewart in the first half changed the dynamic for the Tamaqua offense.

Dillon and the Blue Raiders responded, with the junior running the ball nine times for 107 yards, including a 44-yard scoring run late in the third quarter to extend the lead.

“It’s good to see. Every year, we’re kind of looking for that one guy to step it up and make some plays,” said Tamaqua head coach Sam Bonner. “We thought that this game (against Lehighton) was going to be one of those games where we really had to have somebody do that, especially once Warren went down. Connor did some stuff for us last year, but we kind of saw the potential, especially in the passing scrimmages over the summertime and how his offseason went, that we thought he definitely had the potential to be one of those play-making kind of kids, and he definitely showed that on Friday night.”

And Dillon didn’t think twice.

“At halftime, we knew we had to switch things up when Warren went down, and I knew my role was going to change in a big way, so that’s what happened,” he said. “I just play my game.”

Dillon had four catches for 72 yards in the season opener against Northwestern. He is currently second in the area with eight catches for 206 yards, averaging 25.75 yards per catch. His four total touchdowns lead the team, and are tied for second-most among area players.

“We were together all summer basically, so we all know what we’re capable of doing,” said Dillon, “We all have each other’s backs, we know if one man goes down the next one is going to come up and do his best.

“We all worked hard and knew that we had to change things up because last year wasn’t that great of a year, so I feel like we did a lot more in the weight room and everything; work on route running; and just 7-on-7s, which really helped.

Dillon’s abilities are certainly no secret. Nor are they a surprise.

“For being a little smaller in stature, he’s shifty. He makes plays,” said Bonner. “He’s ones of those guys, when you see him walk onto the field, you’re thinking, he doesn’t look like he’s going to be able to do what he actually does ... he’s football smart, and he’s got definitely field speed. Sometimes you don’t always see that straight-ahead speed all the time, but when he’s on the field he seems to find ways to make yardage.

“And we needed that. We thought it was going to be one of those dogfights that comes down to the wire, and it ended up being that, and the fact that we could run him five, six times that last drive, that was great, being able to pick up some of those big first downs.”

It delivered a boost when the Blue Raiders needed it. And it couldn’t have come at a better time.

“It definitely gives us a lot of momentum,” said Dillon. “We knew we needed that win, and to get one early in the season. We feel confident going into Notre Dame Green Pond.”