Coming into the week two matchup between Palmerton and Southern Lehigh, the Blue Bombers were looking to avenge a 68-21 loss at the hands of the Spartans in 2015. Unfortunately for the Bombers they fell about 42 points short in a 49-7 drubbing by the Spartans.
The matchup began very similarly to the Spartans week one victory, with little to no offensive success for both teams. In fact by the end of first quarter both teams had failed to score a single point and were struggling to move the ball. The closest either team came to scoring occurred on the Bombers first possession when they had a first and goal on the Spartans nine-yard line but failed to put points on the board after opting to go for it on fourth down from the three-yard line.
The Spartans put up four touchdowns in the second quarter alone while pretty much locking down any offense the Bombers had been able to muster in the first quarter. Senior running back Timmy Walter caught the first touchdown of the game after snagging an underthrown pass by sophomore QB Logan Edmond and juking out two Palmerton defenders to take it 61 yards to the house.
On the following drive Palmerton would score their only points of the game when four year starter Brad Perschy rolled out to his right and found running-back Mike Stasko behind the Spartans secondary and lobbed up a 64 bomb for a touchdown. The Spartans second touchdown of the game came at the hands of junior tailback Luke Strauss who powered the ball straight through the Bombers defense for a three-yard touchdown. Walter would score his second touchdown of the game on a 21-yard hookup from Edmond. Before the clock struck zero the Spartans went on to score their fourth touchdown of the quarter when senior fullback Zach Mohr plowed his way through several Blue Bombers leaving chaos in his wake for a six-yard touchdown carry.
If the Bombers had hoped that the offensive onslaught from the Spartans would slow down after halftime they were sadly mistaken. By this point in the game, Palmerton was struggling to stop the Spartans ground game leading to two rushing touchdowns in the third quarter by the Southern Lehigh. With the score now 28-7 the Spartans would still not take their foot off the gas when they handed Mohr the ball on the four-yard line who powered through the goal line defense of the Bombers for the touchdown. The second touchdown of the quarter came from the legs of junior running back Nathan Derby who scored his first touchdown of the season on a one-yard carry.
With backups in, the Spartans scored their seventh and final touchdown of the game at the hands of junior running back BJ Harding. With four goose eggs on the clock, the Spartans emerged victorious in a 49-7 shelling of the Blue Bombers.
From first year starter to fourth year starter both QBs shined in the matchup. Edmond finished the game 8-10 with 181 yards and two touchdowns while still overthrowing several wide-open receivers over the course of the game. Perschy was equally as impressive despite throwing an interception going 11-17 for 142 yards and a touchdown. Despite the impressive arm showcased by their young gunslinger, the ground game proved to be the deciding factor during the game for the Spartans. Southern Lehigh racked up 353 rushing yards with most coming from their trio of workhorse backs with 94 coming from Mohr, 85 from Walter, and 78 yards from Strauss. Across the sidelines the Bombers ground attack was utterly ineffective, amassing only 43 yards throughout the entire game.
For week three the Spartans will travel to Notre Dame to face Mitch Daniels and the Crusaders in what should prove to be a pivotal Colonial League matchup at this point in the season. Palmerton will be looking for their first win of the season when they face the undefeated Saucon Valley Panthers.
