Forcing early turnovers was a primary objective for Palmerton on Friday night coming into its match-up with Pine Grove.

The Bombers were able to check that item off their to-do list against the Cardinals, as they forced three interceptions in the first half, jump-starting their offense and coming away with a 41-22 victory.

A Matt Machalik one-handed pick at the 6:37 mark of the first quarter helped setup Palmerton’s first score of the evening, which came on a 32-yard Machalik run to make it 7-0 with 4:21 remaining in the opening quarter.

After two more scores - a Ty Sander 31-yard scamper and a Machalik to Sander screen pass that went 83 yards to the house - Palmerton would then come up with back-to-back interceptions on Pine Grove’s final two possessions of the half. An Alexander Keiper snatch around the four minute mark of the second and Machalik’s second interception of the half with 18.1 seconds remaining would help the Bombers to hold a 35-0 advantage going into the intermission.

“A big goal for us coming into this game tonight was to create some turnovers. Those interceptions were big for us, and kind of got us out of a little funk offensively there early on in the game and gave us great field position,” said Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak. “Our guys made some great plays on the ball, and then finished the play. Good win tonight, another game protecting our home turf. But we have some things we need to clean up and work on. We need to keep working to get better.”

Machalik’s second pick of the game was a big one, as it gave the Bombers the ball inside Cardinals’ territory at the Pine Grove 33 after a nice return with just under 20 seconds remaining in the first half.

But Palmerton would only need one play as Machalik rolled right, made a few guys miss and threw a bullet across his body on the move, finding Jameson Trainer in the middle of the end zone with 5.3 seconds left on the clock to make it a five-score ball game.

Machalik and Sander were explosive for the Bombers in the first half. Machalik threw for 162 yards and three touchdowns and Sander carried the ball nine times for 132 yards and a score, and he also had the 83-yard receiving touchdown.

Sander’s play has been exceptional, and his production from the running back position is a big reason for the Bombers big offensive numbers this season.

“Ty runs hard. He ran hard tonight. Ty wants the ball and he always does a good job of keeping his feet moving and falling forward. He’s just a really fun kid to coach,” said Walkowiak. “I thought we ran the ball well tonight and then we had some explosive plays in the passing game. That was another one of our goals tonight, to get our pass game going a little bit. The guys did a good job of making plays. I would have liked to see us get out of the gate a little faster tonight, but again a good win.”

THE RECORDS … Pine Grove falls to 1-5. Palmerton stays unbeaten at 6-0 and stays locked in at the No. 2 spot in the District 11 3A power ratings. The Bombers go on the road next week to Salisbury.

UP FRONT … The Palmerton defensive front played tough against Pine Grove’s talented running back Lane Lehman. Lehman picked up a bulk of his yards late in the game against reserves, but even with that he was held to 75 yards at 2.5 yards per carry.

BIG QUARTER … The second quarter served as the difference in this one. A 28-point second helped the Bombers pull away.