Palmerton’s explosive offense has sold a lot of tickets at Bomber Stadium this season, but on Thursday it was the Blue Bombers’ defense that stole the show in their District 11 3A quarterfinal match-up with Jim Thorpe.

The Palmerton defense held the Olympians to just seven points - which came late in the game during the mercy rule - as it came away with a 37-7 victory.

In the first quarter, the Bombers’ “D” was stifling, forcing a punt, a turnover on downs and a safety, to set the tone for what was a dominant showing.

“So proud of our guys tonight. So proud of our defensive effort,” said Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak. “Lazorick and Yescavage have been tough all year. They lead the Times News area in passing and receiving, and we were able to do a good job on them and contain them.

“Credit to our defensive line, our linebackers and our secondary. The defense played complementary defense, where each unit helped each other out and did their job. I also loved the pressure that we were able to get up the middle.”

A goal for Palmerton offensively coming into its matchup with Thorpe was to start fast, and it was able to do just that as running back Ty Sander took a handoff and went 80 yards to the house on the Bombers’ first play from scrimmage. That score, paired with the safety and a Matt Machalik 5-yard touchdown pass to Emilio Gonzalez, gave Palmerton a 16-0 lead after the first quarter.

“Obviously, the big touchdown run to start the game for them was not a good way to start the game for us. It was a trap up front, and we didn’t play it well,” said Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger. “We just didn’t get the job done up front tonight. It all starts there.

“Give credit to Palmerton. That’s a good football team, and they played a good game tonight. We just didn’t play well enough to compete for a win tonight.”

Machalik and wide receiver Bryce Marino were able to form a nice rapport with each other in the first half, connecting on plays through the air of 45, 28 and 39 yards. Each connection helped to set up Palmerton scores.

A Machalik 11-yard run at the 7:21 mark of the second capped off a six-play, 72-yard drive to make it 22-0. That was followed up by a 25-yard field goal from Zack Anthony, and a Machalik 1-yard plunge with 36 seconds remaining in the half after a five-play, 34-yard march.

The Palmerton defense was also stingy in the second quarter, forcing two punts, a fumble and an interception to help the Bombers gain their 31-0 halftime lead.

“This was just a really great team win tonight,” said Marino. “We were focused, and I think we just went out there and played our game. Matt was doing a good job of making plays in the passing game. I was able to run some nice routes tonight, and Matt was able to find me and put the ball right on me.

“The defense was awesome tonight, too. Coach always preaches for everyone to just do their job, and that’s what we were able to do tonight.”

A Machalik 16-yard touchdown pass to Brayden Hosier with 6:16 left in the third quarter put the game into the mercy rule and increased the Palmerton advantage to 37-0.

“Getting out to the fast start was definitely key,” said Walkowiak. “I think the offensive line was good again tonight, they opened up some nice holes and gave Matt some time to make plays in the passing game.

“This was a total team win. Defense was great. Offense made plays.”

NEXT ROUND … The second-seeded Bombers will now move on to the 3A semifinals to take on No. 3 seed North Schuylkill at Palmerton next Friday

MACHALIK STATS … All-State QB Matt Machalik once again put together a nice stat line for the Bombers. Machalik threw for 186 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for 101 yards and two scores. He also came away with an interception on defense. After his numbers against Thorpe, he’s the first player in District 11 history to rush for over 2,000 yards and throw for over 1,000 yards in a season.

DOMINANT D … The Bombers’ defense forced four turnovers and was able to get consistent pressure, tallying five sacks.