photo by: Nick Henthorn

Union Local’s Isaiah Tomolonis splits a pair of tacklers on a rush attempt last week against Harrison Central. Tomolonis is one of two quarterbacks for a Jets team that has gotten off to a 4-0 start.

MORRISTOWN – The old saying goes “If you have two quarterbacks, you have none.”

This season though, the Union Local Jets have subscribed to a different train of thought- “two is better than one.”

Union Local has trotted out both senior Isaiah Tomolonis and junior Colby Carpenter to take snaps at quarterback this year, an unorthodox approach to the position that has worked exceedingly well for the 4-0 Jets.

“We don’t necessarily have a QB1,” Union Local head coach Bernie Thompson said. “We have two quarterbacks who are going to contribute in their own ways. We made sure that they were aware of that, and we made them aware that although there is someone who will be starting the game, we really don’t have a starter.

“Isaiah is the senior, so we’d give him two series- that’s how we started the year off, Isaiah would take two series, Colby would take two series. And then we’d kind of go from there based on how the game’s going.”

The Tomolonis-Carpenter combo has given dual dimensions to the Jets offense, with the pair bringing their own unique strengths to the table whenever one is on the field.

“I think the mindset behind this was just how we could play to their strengths,” Thompson said. “Isaiah is an athlete, he’s dynamite with the ball in his hands, he uses his legs very well and he’s got a big arm. Colby is more of your pocket passer, drop back and distribute the ball.

“We have different strong suits and different things we know we’re good at,” Carpenter said. “We both bring something different to the table and I think that’s what makes this work as well as it has been.”

What has helped just as much as their skill sets has been their willingness to buy into their roles and pursue winning above all else.

“From week one, they’ve done a phenomenal job,” Thompson said of the two co-existing.

“They’re great teammates, great leaders. They have two different personalities but they both desperately want to win- for each other, for the team. I’m proud of how they’ve handled navigating this season.”

With their different playing styles, it is fitting that the two also have different personalities; Carpenter more stoic, Tomolonis more outgoing.

“Isaiah’s the senior here,” Thompson said. “He’s going to lead us out to the field. The kids know that.”

“Colby’s a great kid, we call him the stone cold killer. He doesn’t show too much emotion.”

Results have been positive for both in their quarterbacking co-op. Tomolonis has completed 10 of 16 passes for 151 yards and three touchdowns, while running for 213 yards and two touchdowns at 8.88 yards a pop. He missed week three’s game against Indian Creek with an injury. Carpenter has completed 26 of 44 passes for 296 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.

Surrounding the pair of quarterbacks are dynamic playmakers in the receiving game and running attack, and an offensive line that has silenced any concerns over replacing multiple starters. In an offense that has averaged 38 points per game, the unit as a whole does not seem to have missed a beat whenever No. 7 and No. 5 swap.

“We have one common goal on offense,” Thompson said. “Doesn’t matter who the quarterback is, it’s to take the ball and get it into the end zone. The guys have gravitated to that kind of plug-and-play style. We’ve gotten to the point where it can go play-by-play. Colby’s in one play, you take him out and put Isaiah in. An important note is that when Colby’s in at quarterback, Isaiah’s an athlete, so he tends to stay on the field. We’ll put him at wide receiver, at a running back spot, and get him involved. From the team standpoint, it doesn’t matter who the quarterback is. We all have one mission and that’s to move the ball down the field.”

“Whether it’s me or him out there, I think we both run the offense well and we’re both capable of being in that spot, both ready to play whenever,” Carpenter said.

The two-quarterback system that Union Local is embracing can be traced back to last year, when Carpenter- then a sophomore- had to twice fill in for Tomolonis, who was injured in game one and then again in week six, the latter injury keeping him out the rest of the year.

“Isaiah started the season for us last year, had a couple big games for us,” Thompson said. “He played up until week six and ended up breaking his collarbone. Colby came in and actually won that game.”

Coming in off the bench in that game vs. unbeaten Weir, Carpenter went 6-6 in the Jet’s final drive of the game, throwing a go-ahead 47-yard touchdown pass to Dre Saunders with 90 seconds to play.

“Colby earned a lot of trust that night,” Thompson said. “He came in, he won, played the rest of the year and was great, and he was a sophomore then, Isaiah was a junior. Fast-forward to the offseason and now we have two quarterbacks on the roster, both had already proven they could play.”

“Ever since then [vs. Weir], he’s done a tremendous job at leading the team, completing passes and running the offense,” Tomolonis said of Carpenter.

A different coach may have taken the route of simply sitting one of the two, but the Jets’ coaches and players embraced the challenge of figuring them both into the offense, knowing the rewards for doing so could be great.

“I think it’s been good for the team,” Carpenter said. “It makes it hard for a defense, for them to figure out what we’re going to do.”

“When I’m not in, I’m usually at wide receiver,” Tomolonis explained. “We have run some reps with me at running back too. That’s going to give us two quarterbacks in the backfield. We could throw a double pass. I can catch the ball if you want me to run some routes. It is very nice, it opens up our offense a lot.”

“The old saying ‘when you have two quarterbacks, you have no quarterback’- I refuse to say that because it’s just not the case here,” Thompson said. “I wasn’t going to let this situation be in a negative light. We have two really talented players- now how can they both contribute to this team? How can they buy in and help us be the best team we can be? How can us coaches put them in the best position to let their skill sets shine?”

How about another saying- ‘iron sharpens iron.’ Tomolonis and Carpenter have both been a help to each other, with both appreciating the competition they give one another in practice- and the junior Carpenter taking the occasional words of wisdom from the senior Tomolonis.

“He shows great leadership and he’s helped me in so many different ways as a quarterback,” Carpenter said of Tomolonis. “We build off of eachother in practice and in games.”

“We do compete a lot at practice,” Tomolonis said. “We’re always there for each other if we’re having a bad practice, we always talk it out. We know each other pretty well, we’ve been playing ball together since middle school.”

Union Local hits the road to take on Shenandoah (2-2) tonight. Thompson expects a tough challenge, one of many as the year goes on.

“We are blessed to have these two kids be the leaders of our team,” The sixth-year head coach said. “We’re heading into week five now and that’s been a big question from the community- who’s going to be the quarterback? I was asked that many times over the summer. My answer was always that they’re both going to play. We’re going to need them down the stretch. Our schedule does not get any easier, actually it gets harder. We’re going to need them both at their best.”

“Through four weeks we’re averaging around 38 points per game, but it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. We know that there are going to be tougher opponents and we’re going to have to navigate those waters.”

Last week at home against Harrison Central, the Jets did not have to do much passing in a 49-13 victory. Both quarterbacks went 3-3 in the air, Tomolonis connecting for two touchdowns, and rushing for 72 yards to boot. It was a surgical performance not only for the two quarterbacks, but for a number of Jets players. In that way, their two-quarterback system is emblematic of what Union Local is trying to accomplish as a whole.

“This past game we had six people score a touchdown, which is phenomenal,” Thompson said. “I think the name of the game for the Jets this year is how can we get as many guys as possible involved? How can we make it hard for the defense, where you can’t focus on one guy, you have multiple guys- you don’t have to stop one quarterback, you have to stop two.”

Tomolonis agrees.

“Two is better than one.”