Another rout carries Blue Bombers to District 11 Class 2A final
James Denicola got a message from Palmerton coach Chris Walkowiak during stretch time two hours before Saturday night’s District 11 Class 2A semifinal: He was going spend some time in the backfield.
“My heart was racing,” the senior wide receiver/slotback said. “I was happy about it. I knew I was going to get a couple carries, so I wanted to make the most of the carries I got.”
Denicola certainly did that. He entered the second meeting this season against Catasauqua with four carries in nine games. He had three touchdowns in a four-carry stretch in the first half and also returned a fumble for a score.
Palmerton blew out Catasauqua 47-7 to reach next Saturday’s district final — which is at noon at Lehighton against Blue Mountain rival Northern Lehigh (8-3).
The Bulldogs finished the regular season with a 43-14 rout of the Blue Bombers, then beat Minersville by the same score in Saturday’s other district semifinal.
Denicola had 73 of Palmerton’s 287 rushing yards and was part of a defense that Catasauqua with negative yardage until the third quarter.
The Blue Bombers dominated all phases of Saturday’s game.
“I liked our whole week of practice,” Walkowiak said. “We were focused from Monday on. That carried until today. Matt [Machalik] set the tone early offensively and our defense did a great job pressuring their quarterback and forcing them into some turnovers which we fed off of.”
Machalik ran for 130 yards and two touchdowns and threw for another 73, but his scramble on the game’s third offensive play was a tone setter. He avoided a heavy rush, broke several tackles and turned a sack into an 18-yard gain and a first down.
Five plays later, the sophomore quarterback
broke two more tackles to score from eight yards out on fourth down to give Palmerton the lead and provide Catasauqua a reminder of how challenging it was going to be to stop him.
Machalik had 159 passing yards and two scores and ran for another 143 and a TD in the first Blue Bombers’ win over the Rough Riders in Week 5.
“Matt will be the first one to tell you it’s the offensive line that allows him and the offense to be successful,” Walkowiak said.
“But that [18-yarder], that was all him.”
After Catasauqua’s first 3-and-out on offense, Palmerton drove 69 yards in 12 plays to score again on the first of Denicola’s three short TD runs.
The Blue Bombers converted twice on fourth down on their first two series and never punted in the game.
Denicola’s 23-yard fumble return for a score came after Lucas Heydt and Dominic Dengler harassed Rough Riders quarterback Christian Fye and forced the loose
ball.
“Once I got the first touchdown and we went up 14-0,” Denicola said, “it was a great feeling. It was awesome.”
Denicola’s only previous rushing touchdown came in last year’s opener against Catasauqua.
The Rough Riders (7-4) avoided the shutout when backup quarterback Aiden Hess hit Wyatt Younes with a 59-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter.
But coach Travis Brett’s club struggled from the start against Palmerton’s pass rush. It also compounded things with penalties, turnovers and mental mistakes.
“Palmerton just has a hell of a football team,” Brett said. “We can’t contain [Machalik]. That was the game plan all week. We just couldn’t stop him.
Catasauqua (7-4) finishes out its first season with a winning record since 2013 when it plays rival Northampton on Thanksgiving morning.
Palmerton, meanwhile, is looking for its first district title since 1993.
PALMERTON 47, CATASAUQUA 7
Catasauqua; 0- 0-0- 7 — 7
Palmerton; 14-21-6-6 — 47
ORDER OF SCORING
First quarter
P: Matt Machalik 8run (kick failed), 9:02
P: James Denicola 1run (Machalik pass t Kendall Robinson), 1:25
Second quarter
P: Denicola 23fumble return (Kameron Behler kick), 11:04
P: Denicola 2run (kick failed), 7:22
P: Denicola 3run (Machalik pass to Harrison Dailey), 1:58
Third quarter
P: Machalik 64run (kick failed), 5:06
Fourth quarter
P: Steven Jones 4run (kick failed), 6:19
C: Aiden Hess 59pass to Wyatt Younes (Christian Fye kick), 5:12
TEAM STATISTICS
Stat; Cat; Pal
First downs; 5; 20
Rushes-yards; 25-10; 38-289
Passing yards; 77; 96
Comp-Att-INTs; 4-13-1; 11-16-0
Punts-average; 2-38.0; 0-0
Penalties-yards; 4-22; 1-15
Fumbles-lost; 5-2; 5-2
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: (Catasauqua) Elijah Soler 11-87; Christian Fye 11-(-60); Jacob Scheirer 1-4; Jyzaiah Bonilla 1-0; team 1-(-21) (Palmerton) Matt Machalik 10-130, 2TDs; Lucas Heydt 2-3; Steven Jones 8-40, TD; James Denicola 10-73, 3TDs; Kendall Robinson 1-10; Danny Lucykanish 1-9; Jameson Trainer 2-(-1); Emilio Gonzalez 3-23; Jackson Stein 1-2.
Passing: (Catasauqua) Fye 3-11-1, 18yards; Aiden Hess 1-1-0, 59yards, TD; (Palmerton) Machalik 8-13-0, 73 yards; Harrison Dailey 3-3-0, 23yards.
Receiving: (Catasauqua) Wyatt Younes 1-59, TD; Ian Juica 2-10; Dylan Pacheco 1-8; (Palmerton) Heydt 1-7; Denicola 1-3; Lucykanish 5-58; Robinson 3-24; Bryson Walters 1-4.