Trailing by a touchdown at halftime, and seeing little life in his offense, Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak decided it was time to change things up a bit.

Hoping that Pen Argyl’s defense would wilt a bit in the 70-degree heat, the Blue Bombers used a strong running attack to pull out a 21-14 come-from behind win in Saturday’s District 11 Class 2A quarterfinal contest.

Palmerton now gets to play Northern Lehigh for the second time in three weeks when the two rivals meet in the semifinals.

The Bombers mustered just 79 yards in the first half, while the Green Knights topped the 200 mark thanks to the running of Gavin Amerman.

“That was compliments to them,” said Walkowiak, whose team improved to 3-4. “We knew about their unbalanced line front that they were showing, and they were more physical in the first half. They’re a tough team.

“Our kids rebounded in the second half and stayed the course. I’m so proud of their effort. We didn’t panic at halftime. We knew it wasn’t our best half of football. In the second half, I thought we did a great job of controlling the clock and playing good defense and getting off the field.”

The Bombers finished with 288 yards on the day and used the running of sophomore Cole Serfass, who switched to quarterback.

“I was just told to put my foot on the ground and find a hole, be patient, and a hole opened up almost every time,” Serfass said.

“Our whole offensive line, with Jeremy Mooney, Owen Buck, Tim Iles, Hunter Connell and Brody Muniz, did their job. I couldn’t do anything without them. They played amazing in the second half.”

It was a 10-play, 80-yard drive that ended on a 22-yard Serfass TD run with 2:47 left in the contest that broke a 14-14 tie. Jonathan Perloni booted his third PAT of the afternoon to give the Bombers the eventual 21-14 win.

“Cole was running downhill and was very good running north and south,” Walkowiak added. “We’re very fortunate here to have two very good quarterbacks, and whatever is working that’s what we go with.”

Palmerton actually took the lead right from the get-go when freshman Matt Machalik recovered a Pen Argyl muff on the opening kickoff at the Green Knights’ 22.

Five players later, Machalik - who started at quarterback - hit James Denicola with a 9-yard strike in the end zone for the score.

The rest of the first half belonged to the Green Knights, however, as the Bombers managed just three first downs before intermission.

Amerman scored on a 36-yard run on Pen Argyl’s first offensive series and Lucas Maggapinto booted the PAT to tie it at 7-7.

The Knights added the go-ahead score with less than a minute gone in the second quarter as Collin McKeague caught a 5-yard pass from Amerman and another Maggapinto PAT made it 14-7.

Palmerton’s defense held Pen Argyl and took over on downs twice before the half or the Green Knights might have built up a big cushion.

The Bombers controlled the ball in the third quarter but didn’t score the tying touchdown until the first minute of the fourth quarter when Lucas Heydt snuck in from the one. Perloni’s kick made it 14-14.

During the scoring drive, which took 16 plays, Serfass actually rushed for 36 yards on eight carries to set up the score.

COLE’S WORKLOAD … Serfass gave the Green Knight fits, as he finished with 145 yards rushing on 26 carries and completed two passes for 43 yards.

DEFENSIVE GEMS … Connell, Buck and Iles led the Bombers in tackles for losses and had numerous defensive stops.

RIVALS COLLIDE ... Palmerton’s semifinal matchup with Northern Lehigh will be played Saturday in Slatington. Kickoff is set for 1:40 p.m. and the contest will be televised by BRC-TV13.