Before Palmerton's home opener Friday night, the buzz was all about the school's new turf field.

After the contest, though, the talk centered more around the players that performed on that field.Rallying from a halftime deficit, the Blue Bombers christened their new facility in grand style by pulling out an exciting 29-28 Colonial League victory over Saucon Valley."Our kids came out (in the second half) with confidence," said Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak, whose club trailed 28-14 at the break. "They knew we were in a ballgame. They knew they had made some mistakes. But the longer we hung around, the more confident we got."We just asked our kids to play for 48 minutes and leave it all out on the field and own it and see what happens at the end. What a great way to open the new field. I told the kids that they own this memory now. Whatever happens from here out, they own this memory. I'm really proud of the way they kept their focus and did their job."While the Bombers (2-1) received solid efforts from the entire squad, there's no denying that sophomore Jordan Nelson had a major role in his team's exciting win.Nelson breathed life into the home sidelines early in the second half when he caught a deep pass from Tekoah Guedes and raced to the end zone for a 73-yard touchdown that cut the gap to 28-22."That was a good counter punch (to what they did in the first half) and it really got the energy flowing," said Nelson. "Everybody just stuck together and played the rest of the game well."Following the score, the Palmerton defense eventually forced a punt and gave the offense the ball back.Guedes hit Nelson with another big-gainer (33 yards) before tough running from Andrew Sabo put the ball in the red zone. A few plays later, Guedes powered his way into the end zone to give the Bombers the lead."We have a number of playmakers and skill people on offense," said Walkowiak. "Jordan Nelson really stepped up tonight and made plays, but we have many guys that can do that. Sabo did a tremendous job picking up yards after contact, and Tekoah made some quality throws."We came out after halftime and went right to (Nelson) ... We saw a mismatch there and exploited it."After gaining the lead, Palmerton wasn't about to let it go.The defense, which gave up numerous big plays to the Panthers' Alstan Wolfe and Zach Petiet in the opening half, contained the two over the final two frames. In fact, the Bombers didn't allow them to reach their 30 in that decisive second half."It may sound like a cliche, but it was just about fundamentals - do your job and do what you're supposed to do," said Walkowiak about the defensive effort. "They read their keys, and they flew to the ball. We also got some key turnovers."A Sabo sack produced a fumble, while Saucon's last possession - which began with 1:20 to play - ended when Nelson intercepted Wolfe's final pass."I was just dropping back for coverage and I saw the ball in the air and went for it," said Nelson, who also had a TD catch in the opening quarter."It feels great getting the win on our new turf field, especially against a team that was 2-0 coming in. It was just a great team win."AIR ATTACK ... Palmerton threw the ball 15 times in the first quarter, finishing with 30 in the game. Guedes had a string of six straight completions in the first quarter, and one of five straight in the second half.BIG PLAYS ... Saucon Valley had six plays of over 15 yards in the first half (three of them touchdowns), but only had one in the second half.HALFTIME SPEECH ... Walkowiak said the staff and players were calm and composed at the half. "We said let's get back to our three F's - our focus, our fundamentals, and come out with fury. And they bought into it."