Now for something completely different: A quarterback might win the Butler Eagle Scoring Trophy this season.

The trophy, in existence since 1990, is awarded annually to the football player who leads the Butler County area in points.

The winner always has been a running back. Last year, Bill Bair of Mars became the first player in the award's history to score more than 200 points in a season.

But Bair, a two-time trophy winner, has graduated and is now playing at Duquesne University.

And while there are other good running backs — Knoch's Tim McNerney, Grove City's Dwayne Martin, Mars' Shane Kaclik and Seneca Valley's Tyler Mack among them — the top two scorers entering the halfway point of the 2008 season throw the football as much as they run it.

Through the first four games of 2008, C.J. Brown of Seneca Valley and Jono Powell of Slippery Rock have become the best double-threats at the quarterback position in Butler County since the days of Nick Monteleone at Butler.

Brown and Powell have scored eight touchdowns each. They also rank among the area's top three quarterbacks in throwing the ball and are among the top four in rushing yards.

Brown has verbally committed to the University of Maryland. Besides his 318 yards and eight rushing touchdowns, he has thrown for 1,120 yards and eight TDs.

Powell, still undecided about a college football future, is not a Division I — maybe not even a Division II— prospect as a quarterback.

At 5-foot-8, 165 pounds, his size is against him. Though small in stature, he just keeps putting up big numbers.

Powell has 476 yards and seven touchdowns rushing, 432 yards and six touchdowns passing. He's also returned an interception for a score. He has attempted only 49 passes — fewer than half of Brown's attempts.

Brown and Powell are averaging 14 and 12 yards per completion, respectively, so they're not just dumping the ball across the line of scrimmage.

They run dangerous passing attacks, though Seneca Valley's offense accentuates the air game much more than Slippery Rock.

Neither Brown nor Powell is a shoo-in to claim the scoring trophy. As much as Karns City distributes the football on offense, Josh Callender still has seven touchdowns, some coming while playing special teams and defense.

Grove City's Martin also has seven TDs and the Eagles offense figures to become more electric once quarterback Mike Burk returns from an injury.

And McNerney is one huge game away from getting into the hunt. Based on last year, that kid is capable of piling up points in a hurry.

A quarterback winning a scoring trophy sounds almost impossible. The consistent play of Brown and Powell are making such a scenario look probable.

Who knows what total numbers they'll put up when it's all said and done?

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle.