Palmerton picks up second half steam, passes Pen Argyl

The Blue Bombers get to play archrival Northern Lehigh once again, this time in D-11 semifinals

Palmerton High School football coach Chris Walkowiak says Cole Serfass plays quarterback with a linebacker’s mentality.

Which makes sense because Serfass, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound sophomore, also starts at middle linebacker for the Blue Bombers.

With a little less than three minutes to go in Palmerton’s District 11 Class 2A quarterfinal contest with visiting Pen Argyl on a 70-degree, sun-splashed Saturday afternoon, Serfass muscled and sprinted his way up the gut for the go-ahead 22-yard touchdown in a 21-14 victory.

Palmerton now gets to play archival Northern Lehigh for the second time in three weeks. The No. 2 Bulldogs routed No. 7 Schuylkill Haven to set up a rematch with the Blue Bombers in the semifinals. Palmerton defeated Northern Lehigh 31-26 in the regular-season finale.

Going for the first down on fourthand-2, was a no brainer for Walkowiak with Serfass at quarterback. Serfass started the read-option play by faking a jet sweep handoff before finding a seam to the end zone.

“At 6-3, 200 pounds, Cole’s a load to bring down,” Walkowiak said. “On fourth and short, I’m betting on him every time.”

The game was a tale of two halves with Pen Argyl (2-5) dominating the opening 24 minutes, although Palmerton (3-4) scored first when the Green Knights failed to recover a short opening kickoff. Instead, it was freshman Matt Machalik whop ounced on the loose ball at Pen Argyl’s 22-yard line.

Machalik, who started at quarterback with Serfass as the halfback alongside him, connected with James Denicola in the right corner of the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown pass five plays later. Jon Perloni’s PAT kick made it 7-0.

But the Blue Bombers registered only two more first downs the rest of the half. Serfass’ counterpart at quarterback and middle linebacker, Gavin Amerman, rushed 10 times for 80 yards in the first quarter, including a 36-yard jaunt for a score to tie the game at the 5:32 mark.

The Green Knights went ahead 14-7 on the first play of the second quarter. On fourth-and-goal from the 5, Amerman swung a pass to halfback Collin McKeague on the left side. The converted wide receiver stretched out to touch the ball to the pylon before falling out of bounds. The nearest official ruled touchdown and the Knights were in the lead.

“We had the [mistake on the] kickoff to start the game, but the kids really bounced back after that,” said first-year Pen Argyl coach Brady Mutton.

By halftime, Pen Argyl had outgained Palmerton 234 to 79 yards and ran 37 plays to the Blue Bombers’ 22. But it was two fourth-down stops deep in Palmerton territory that kept the Bombers in the game.

The Blue Bombers curtailed their rotation at quarterback, too, and went almost exclusively with Serfass in the second half. Serfass carried 10 times for 74 yards on a drive that consumed more than seven minutes and culminated with Lucas Heydt scoring the tying touchdown from the 1 on the second play of the fourth quarter.

Pen Argyl threatened for the final time on its next possession but Lucas Maggipinto’s 34-yard field goal try was short with 7:25 remaining.