Tigers rout Blue Bombers for second title in a row
Matt Machalik broke containment and got around the left end on the third play of Friday night’s District 11 Class 3A championship game.
The Palmerton senior did that dozens of times in his career against many solid defenses.
Northwestern Lehigh senior Dalton Clymer could only chuckle after Machalik’s 24-yard gain on the opening series.
“A year ago in this same game on the second play of the game,” Clymer recalled, “was us giving up that touchdown [to North Schuylkill].
“All that went through my mind [tonight and last year] was laughing and thinking, ‘It’s a ballgame.’ ”
Northwestern took control of last year’s game shortly after Clymer’s first smile.
The Tigers took it up a few more notches Friday night after the two-way standout had the flashback.
Northwestern scored the first four times it had the ball and on six of seven possessions in a lopsided first half on its way to a 58-8 victory over Palmerton in a battle of unbeaten teams in front of a standing-room-only crowd at Lehighton School District Multi-Purpose Stadium.
The Tigers’ sixth district title and second in a row came in unexpectedly convincing fashion as they scored 43 points before intermission. Northwestern racked up 353 yards in the first two quarters.
Coach Josh Snyder’s defense was equally impressive. It forced three punts and generated three turnovers after getting a fourth-down stop on Palmerton’s first drive of the game. The Blue Bombers entered averaging 43 points per game in the first 12 games of their historic season.
“Terrific game-planning by our coaches,” Snyder said. “A lot of film work goes into it. The execution, the buy-in, a lot of practice goes into it.
“We knew we couldn’t get upfield and create lanes and overpursue. We just saw it too many times on film. [Machalik] can hurt you.”
Machalik’s record-setting career ended with 80 yards rushing and 46 yards passing. Palmerton did not score until the fourth quarter.
Northwestern scored on its first possession of the second half on Devon Hildebrand’s 2-yard TD run. Brady Zimmerman’s 12-yard run capped the scoring with 3 minutes, 9 seconds left.
It put an exclamation point on the program’s first back-toback district titles.
“All week we were preaching that it was going to be a big game,” Hildebrand said. “There’s going to be a lot of pressure on us, and we’re going to have to perform. I think we did that just fine.
“We set the tone right away with stopping that first drive and scoring right away. We just stuck with it the rest of the way.”
Bad start: Palmerton failed on its first third-down try and its initial fourth-down effort, then allowed a 51-yard touchdown run in which Northwestern’s Eli Zimmerman went virtually untouched for a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.
“We didn’t execute,” Blue Bombers coach Chris Walkowiak said. “That hurt us, that quick start. And then the floodgates kind of opened up. We turned the ball over [and] they made plays.
“Hats off to [Northwestern]. Their speed, they stopped our outside run
game, our inside run game. They won the battle up front. “They are the real deal.” After a Palmerton threeand-out, Northwestern drove 82 yards in seven plays for its next score, Shane Leh’s 12-yard touchdown. Leh’s 53-yard completion to Devon Hildebrand propelled the series in which the Tigers converted twice on third down.
Another three-and-out by the Blue Bombers was followed by another Tigers TD, this one a Clymer 4-yard run on the first play of the second quarter.
Landen Matson then recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. Leh found Seth Kern on a 40-yard TD pass on fourth down.
Clymer later recovered a Blue Bombers fumble after a Josh Wambold sack. Five plays later Leh ran 24 yards for another score and a 37-0 Tigers cushion.
Clymer’s 3-yard TD run with 18 seconds left capped the first-half onslaught.
Up next: Northwestern (13-0) plays either District 12 champion Neumann-Goretti or District 2 champ Scranton Prep in next weekend’s PIAA 3A quarterfinal at a date, District 11 site and time TBA. Palmerton’s season ends at 12-1.
Neumann-Goretti and Scranton Prep play Saturday afternoon at Northern Lehigh’s Bulldog Stadium.