Time flies.

Well, unless you’re a fan of Pittsburgh baseball.

In that case, time painfully crawls for 20 years until your team improbably rises from the ashes and into the playoffs.

Congratulations to every faithful Pirate fan out there who followed the team through few peaks and countless valleys over the past two decades. Be sure to soak in every pitch of the postseason — you earned it.

The Pirates aren’t alone in supplying surprises, though.

In some twisted role reversal, the Steelers are terrible. Not just the mediocre many expected, but downright difficult to watch — sort of like the Pirates through much of their 20-year losing skid.

On a brighter note, there are plenty of high school football players in the area enjoying pleasantly surprising campaigns.

Here’s my all-breakout team:

QB: Lane Cicciarelli, Union

The junior is listed at only 5-foot-9 and 140 pounds, but the kid can deliver a football on the money.

Cicciarelli has completed 35-of-67 passes for 661 yards with nine touchdowns and three interceptions. He leads the county in yards and TD passes.

RB: Cody Milsom, Knoch

The junior wasn’t guaranteed a starting gig in August, but he has earned himself a heavy workload each and every Friday for the Knights.

Among Butler County area schools, no one has been handed the ball more than Milsom. He has churned 102 carries into 461 yards, trailing only Mars’ Josh Schultheis in rushing this season.

WR: Shane Murphy, Union

Chet Carmichael — the other half of Union’s dynamic receiving duo — is worthy of consideration here, but Murphy gets the nod.

Murphy leads the area with 273 receiving yards on 12 receptions, half of which have gone for touchdowns. He has also hauled in a pair of two-point conversions and returned a kick for a score.

TE: Nolan Skirtich, Mars

The senior didn’t catch a pass last year, but has already totaled eight receptions for 217 yards and a touchdown in 2013.

He snagged two key passes during last week’s drubbing of Highlands and based on the Planets’ rushing numbers, I’ll assume his blocking isn’t too shabby, either.

Utility: T.J. Holl, Seneca Valley and Jake Whitmer, Slippery Rock

Sorry, I couldn’t pick just one.

Holl has completed 60 percent of his passes for 627 yards and four touchdowns, while rushing for 278 yards and four more scores.

Whitmer is ultra efficient through the air — four of his nine passes have gone for touchdowns — but the junior has done most of his damage on the ground with 343 yards and seven scores.

Both of these guys were reliable receivers for their respective teams last season before making the transition behind center.

To be great at one aspect of the game is certainly useful. When a player does everything well, they become invaluable.

Jason Orfao is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.