In the off-season, Jim Thorpe quarterback Brett Balliet made it a priority to get better in order to improve his production and consistency at the signal caller position.

Balliet has shown so far this season - and especially last week against a talented Notre Dame Green Pond squad - that putting in the hard work and effort in the off-season pays off.

Thorpe wasn’t able to come away with the win over the Crusaders last Friday evening, but the Olympians senior put together an impressive performance, throwing for 327 yards and five touchdowns, while also rushing for a score in helping JT put up 40 points.

Balliet’s productive night has earned him the Times News Player of the Week.

“I couldn’t be more happy for Brett to receive notoriety, because he deserves it,” said Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger. “He’s worked hard, putting in a lot of time and effort to become a better quarterback and he’s just a really great kid.

“Coming into this season, you could just see his development and you could see the progression and right now he’s showing a strong grasp of the offense. I think he’s also improved at reading defenses and he’s playing with a ton of confidence as well.”

Balliet was just simply terrific against Notre Dame last week. He got the Olympians’ offense going early, throwing for three touchdowns in the first half, including big play scores of 56 and 67 yards to Sal Capria and David Fiorito respectively. Balliet would throw for two more scores in the second half to cap off one of the best passing nights in Jim Thorpe program history. He finished the night 19-of-30 for 327 yards with zero interceptions.

“It all starts with the offensive line doing a great job blocking up front and allowing me to be able to diagnose the defense and hit the open receivers,” said Balliet. “Our receivers and running backs had great games as well. They made some nice catches and nice plays after the catch.

“I just feel confident right now. I’m more experienced now. It’s my second year starting at quarterback and I have a good grasp of what is going on and it was just all clicking last week for us on offense.”

Balliet has already surpassed his passing statistics from a season ago and most importantly he is doing a better job at taking care of the football. Last season, Balliet passed for 1,209 yards with 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions. This season, he is already over the 1,200-yard mark with 13 touchdowns and just three interceptions.

“I worked hard this off-season. I just wanted to become a better player and a better quarterback and a smarter quarterback as well,” said Balliet. “I’ve really focused on trying to make the smart reads and taking care of the ball and I think it has definitely made a positive impact.”

With only two regular season games remaining - an important match-up with a highly-regarded 7-1 Northern Lehigh team on the docket this week and a rivalry game in week 10 against Lehighton - it’s important for the Olympians to finish strong in order to create some momentum before entering the district playoffs.

“It’s more important now more than ever for us to come together as a team and finish the season strong and try to finish on a high note,” said Balliet. “It all started with practice this week. Now we need to be focused and believe in ourselves ... believe that we can compete with any team that we have on our schedule.”