Palmerton has enjoyed the comforts of home their last two games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will take on the Northwestern Lehigh Tigers at 7:05 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Palmerton's favor is that they have now posted big point totals in their last ten matches.
Palmerton was not the first on the board last Friday, but they got there more often. They walked away with a 32-24 victory over North Schuylkill.
Palmerton had a senior duo take command as Ty Sander gained 156 total yards and two touchdowns and Matthew Machalik rushed for 96 yards and two touchdowns. Machalik is absolutely dominating the rushing touchdown category: he's posted at least two every time he's taken the field this season.
Another reason for the win was Palmerton's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for five sacks. In that department, Emilio Gonzalez was the leader with three sacks.
Meanwhile, Northwestern Lehigh put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They blew past Notre Dame-Green Pond 43-21. The result was nothing new for Northwestern Lehigh, who have now won 11 contests by 22 points or more so far this season.
Dalton Clymer was his usual excellent self, rushing for 193 yards and three touchdowns. Clymer has been hot recently, having posted 100 or more rushing yards the last three times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Eli Zimmerman, who rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown.
Palmerton pushed their record up to 12-0 with that win, which was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season. As for Northwestern Lehigh, their victory bumped their record up to an identical 12-0.
We should be in store for an exciting game Friday as both teams have no problem gaining yardage. Palmerton has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 431.2 total yards per game. However, it's not like Northwestern Lehigh struggles in that department as they've been averaging 377 per game. With a pair of commanding offenses duking it out, the defenses are going to have their work cut out for them. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other football content.
Palmerton was dealt a bruising 57-28 defeat at the hands of Northwestern Lehigh in their previous meeting back in October of 2020. Thankfully for Palmerton, Justin Holmes (who rushed for 152 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 9.5 yards per carry, and also threw for 262 yards and three touchdowns on only 15 passes) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
