Some players just have the ‘It’ factor.

Some teams do, too.

Record-setting quarterback Matt Machalik has commanded attention whenever Palmerton steps on the field. But Machalik is surrounded by a stable of talented teammates who have helped the Blue Bombers take flight.

It’s been a driving force in helping unbeaten Palmerton reach the District 11 Class 3A title game - and a combination that will be key again as the Bombers square off with undefeated Northwestern Friday night.

It’s something Tigers’ head coach Josh Snyder knows all about.

“First of all, you don’t get to be 12-0 - I know Machalik gets a lot of the credit - but you don’t get to be 12-0 by having one player on your team,” said Snyder, whose team is seeking back-to-back district titles. “They have a nice squad, first and foremost, and overall a good football team. They’re fundamentally sound, that jumps off at you. Then obviously you have the two Anthony brothers (Logan and Zach) in there (on the line). They just jump off at you because of their size and their physicality, and what they can do on both sides of the ball.

“The other thing is their aggressiveness on defense. We don’t see a ton of what they do, at least against us, and who knows how they’re going to play us. But they blitz a ton of linebackers out of the four(-man) front. A lot of teams don’t really do that, and they’ve been able to cause a lot of negative plays by their aggressive nature, and their blitzing and their movement ... they create a lot of chaos for a team with what they can do defensively.”

Palmerton is averaging 43 points per game this season, with Machalik becoming the first quarterback in Pennsylvania history to pass and rush for 5,000 yards in a career. He scored the go-ahead TD with 52 seconds left in a 32-24 win over North Schuylkill last week.

The Tigers (12-0) are scoring 45.4 points per game, and allowing just 9.8 per contest this season. They held Notre Dame Green Pond to 267 yards of total offense in a 43-21 win last week.

“It’s a lot of the same,” Snyder said of his message to the team. “A lot of the same, and even more so, you’ve got to play your assignment; you can’t have any breakdowns. You can’t have two guys in the same gap, because he’ll find the seam, he’ll find the little bit of the weaknesses in what you’re doing. We’ve got a lot of different stuff that we have in this week and we’re repping it out ... and trying to prepare for what they might have. But for us, we have to be all together and aligned. We can’t have any seams, and you’ve got to keep contain. You’ve got to sort of try to corral this kid (Machalik) sort of inside. If he gets a head of steam into the secondary, there’s no stopping him.”

While Machalik leads the team in rushing, senior running back Ty Sander has also been a dynamic ball carrier out of the backfield for the Bombers.

“He’s the compliment to Matt. What’s impressive about him, I think I remember seeing the stats, is that he only had maybe like 40 yards rushing all of last season. You talk about coming out of nowhere and making the best of your senior season, it’s unbelievable that he didn’t have more stats the way he really hits the hole hard and runs downhill. He had a heck of a game last week, not only running the ball, but being a pass catcher. He’s their leading receiver in terms of catches and yardage.”

Northwestern’s offensive line - left tackle Ben Walters, left guard Jackson Bailey, center Blaine Snyder, right guard Jared Meck and right tackle Bryer Reichard - along with tight end Shane Hulmes, have paved the way for a punishing rushing attack, led by senior standout Dalton Clymer, who has rushed for 24 touchdowns this season.

“I think he became our all-time leading scorer in fact last game, and he’s third in rushing,” said Snyder. “He’s a big kid, and we’ve had some fantastic running backs over the years, but to see him be up in the annals of the best statistically in the history of Northwestern, you really understand what you got. And you look at his touches, he has over 200 touches, and only a couple that lost yards. We’re always ahead of the chains, we feel like we always have a shot on second, third and fourth down if we just keep feeding him. And the physicality that he brings to the running back position, you just don’t see a whole lot of that anymore. He’s sort of a throwback player in that way.

“You see all the guys that like to make you miss, and they’re finesse runners. Clymer is a little bit of that old-school, buckle up, I’m coming downhill, try to stop me type of thing. He gets stronger as the game goes on.”

In a 42-14 win over previously unbeaten Southern Lehigh in the regular season finale, Clymer carried the ball 34 times for 249 yards and three scores. He had 35 carries for 190 yards and three TDs last week against the Crusaders.

“We joke around with him that in our two biggest games to date, against Southern Lehigh and Notre Dame, he has about a third of his carries,” said Snyder. “He has almost 70 carries in two games, and about 130 in the others. When the game’s on the line, and we need him, he’s our workhorse. It’s definitely a luxury. We’re not done yet. We’re going to enjoy him for the next couple weeks, hopefully.”