EASTON - For the first time all season a team found a way to contain Palmerton’s offense.

Notre Dame held the Blue Bombers to three touchdowns in a 55-18 win as Crusader quarterback Danny Darno threw four touchdown passes and ran for another to lead the Crusaders to their fourth win of the season.

“I’m very proud of our coaches for what they put together for a defensive game plan,” said Notre Dame head coach Phil Stambaugh. “I thought we played a physical game. We know how good their quarterback is and that was the main focus this week was to limit his big plays. We knew he was going to make plays. On top of him, their skill kids are fast. That’s a good team. We were concerned about how good they were offensively.”

The Crusaders (4-1) forced three punts, got two turnovers on downs and recovered a fumble to hold a team that was averaging 44.5 points per game to just 18. Palmerton (3-2) hadn’t scored less than 40 points in any of it’s first four games.

Notre Dame found a way to keep quarterback Matt Machalik from breaking free for big runs. A dangerous runner when he escapes the pocket, he only had three runs longer than 10 yards Friday and just one longer than 13 yards.

The Crusaders scored on five of their six first-half possessions to take a 35-12 lead at halftime. They got back at it quickly after intermission as AJ Lozano took the second-half kick off 76 yards for a back-breaking touchdown.

“We talked about making it a two-score game by the fourth quarter,” said Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak. “That’s two weeks in a row we had a kick off touchdown to start the second half. We have to evaluate that and get better.”

“It was huge,” Stambaugh said of the kick return touchdown. “We wanted to set the tone for that second half. I knew we were going to have to keep scoring to take control of the game.”

After a Blue Bomber three-and-out on their first drive of the second half, Notre Dame drove 65 yards in eight plays to put the game into the mercy rule. Darno hit Josh Ludlow with an 11-yard pass for the pair’s third touchdown connection of the game to put their team ahead 48-12 with 8:19 left in the third quarter.

Darno completed 15 of 19 passes in the win while throwing for 241 yards with one interception. He also ran for 55 yards and a score.

“He has been playing really well,” Stambaugh said of his quarterback. “He’s running the ball well and he’s throwing the ball well and he’s working hard to do it. I’m proud of his effort and our whole team.”

Machalik threw for 184 yards and ran for 64 more. He completed 16 of 24 passes, threw two touchdowns and didn’t turn the ball over. But the Bomber offense wasn’t able to finish drives or get the quick strikes it had often hit in its first four games.

“We didn’t get in a rhythm the whole night,” said Walkowiak. “Whether it was offensively or defensively, we were fighting ourselves all night. We talked about playing complimentary football. If we got a score we didn’t get a stop, and if we got a stop we didn’t get a score.

“Credit to them. They’re a good football team. They fly around and make plays and they were hungry. I think that was the difference. We weren’t as hungry and making plays.”

LONG BALL LUDLOW ... Ludlow, a junior receiver, caught eight passes for 126 yards and three scores. He averaged 15.7 yards per catch and had four receptions over 20 yards.

BOMBER BOMBS ... Machalik’s two TD passes went to Daniel Lucykanish and Kendall Robinson. The QB also ran for a score.

COMING UP ... The Crusaders are one of three Class 3A teams at 4-1, along with Northwestern and North Schuylkill, which visits Green Pond to face Notre Dame Friday night.