On the open seas, if pirates board another captain’s ship, the outlook is pretty grim.

In the second half of the inaugural week of the Colonial League football season, Kevin Ronalds’ crew infested Palmerton’s deck to erase any doubts and move to a 49-14 victory.

Palmerton, with several question marks going into the season, had answers for their foes early on and remained deadlocked at 14-apiece at the intermission.

But Palisades running back Trey Gretzinger powered his way through the Blue Bomber secondary, racking up first downs and collecting treasure in the second half, to help the winners score six unanswered touchdowns.

“I was proud of the way the guys fought,” Ronalds said. “I thought our conditioning was outstanding. It was a gutsy effort for us tonight with a lot of new kids doing things tonight for the first time. We made some errors, but I’m glad with the effort.

“Having Trey in the backfield, and (quarterback) Ethan (Brader) both back there and being able to spread teams out is a nice thing to have. We still have things we haven’t showed yet, but I’m proud of the win.”

As the contest began, the scouting reports proved to mean nothing, as big plays proved to factor in heavily. In fact, the hosts’ first play from scrimmage was a screen pass from freshman quarterback Lucas Heydt to Aaron Stasko, who took the ball 69 yards up the right side to start the season off right.

Palisades responded with an eight-play drive from its own 25, and Brader pounced in from the four. But the PAT failed and the Bombers remained ahead, 7-6.

Palmerton’s next drive penetrated the red zone, but nice Pirate pressure limited the score. Palisades went immediately back to work and drove down field, before Brader’s bullet was swiped away by Cody Waterhouse, who took the interception 93 yards for a 14-6 lead.

Gretzinger seemed to get a spark on the winners’ ensuing possession, as he bulled his way for 59 of his team’s 73-yard drive, including a change of direction that resulted in a tie game at the break.

“Gretzinger ran hard tonight and it wasn’t a surprise to us,” Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak said. “We knew what he was capable of, and Brader, coming in. They did what they were supposed to do, but we didn’t do a good job of tackling, we didn’t pursue, and they made plays.”

An injury to Heydt and a brilliant second half spelled certain doom for the Bombers the rest of the way, as Gretzinger added two more scores early in the third, and the Pirates rattled off six scores to win going away.

TREY-MENDOUS ... Gretzinger finished the game with 252 rushing yards on 25 carries, including three touchdowns for the Pirates. His trey scores were consecutive and essentially turned the tide in favor of the winners.

BRADER’S BRIGHTER ... The winners’ signal-caller had a strong outing, proving to be a dynamic runner, eluding tackles and striding for yards on nearly every possession. He carried the ball 14 times for 114 yards, scored once on the ground and connected with RJ Smith for a crucial two-point conversion in the second quarter. In the game, Palisades’ offense amassed 498 yards and 23 first downs, and rarely went to the air attack.

RESPECT ... A moment of silence was held before the game to remember PollyAnn Steinmetz, a Blue Bomber fan and long-time ticket taker for Palmerton sporting events, who passed away in early March following her arduous battle with diabetes.