The Palmerton Blue Bombers football program has the chance to make a statement on Friday night as they square off with perennial postseason contender Southern Lehigh.

Both the Bombers and Spartans are coming into their Week Six matchup with identical 4-1 records, so it's obvious that the winner of this one will be in position to make a run at the Colonial League title.With possible title implications and the resurgence of the Blue Bombers' football program on the line, this Colonial League showdown has generated enough hype to be named the Times News Game of the Week.Palmerton's four wins are already better than their combined wins from the 2013 (2) and 2012 (0) and it looks poised to have their first winning season since 2008 (9-3). The main ingredients to their success are much like any that make a team difficult to deal with on Fridays."Mentally we are a much tougher football team than we've been in the past," said Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak. "We've been in adverse situations this year and I like the look in our players' eyes. In the past things would go in a much different direction and I think that's a testament to our leadership. This is also a very tight knit group with no egos. We have a saying 'All in or in the way' and that pretty much sums up the way these guys are playing football this season."It won't be easy for either team to come out on top this week as both clubs boast pretty strong defensive units. The Bombers are giving up just 212.6 total yards per game, while the Spartans are allowing 219.2.Friday could also feature quite a quarterback battle between the Spartans' Travis Edmond and Bombers' Garrett Perschy. Edmond is leading an offense that is averaging 457 total yards per game and 34.2 points per contest. Edmond is also averaging 179 yards passing per game and has thrown nine touchdowns and just two interceptions.Perschy is leading a Palmerton passing attack that was non-existent over the past two seasons and Perschy's ability in the pocket in 2014 is an obvious reason why the Bombers are improved. The sophomore has thrown for 659 yards with seven TDs and no picks.Still, even with Palmerton's overall offensive improvement, the edge has to belong to the Spartans, who are averaging almost 180 more total yards per game than the Bombers."Southern Lehigh is a well-seasoned team, it's a very well-coached team, and it's a team fueled by the play of its quarterback," said Walkowiak. "Travis Edmond was a second team Colonial League guy last year. He can run, he can throw, and he's got a bunch of playmakers that he can throw the ball to. They also run the Wing-T, which we don't see very often, so they're going to force you to play assignment football. That will definitely be the emphasis this week at practice. Our kids will have to read their keys, be disciplined, and stay in their lanes."Edmond has a lot of targets, but his big-time performers are slot back Tim Walter and wide receiver Ethan Price. Walter is a versatile guy, who has 334 yards receiving and five touchdowns to go along with 227 rushing yards and two scores. Price is your prototypical receiver with good size, speed, and strength. He has caught 17 balls for 503 yards and two touchdowns.These Bombers probably have their best playmaking unit since the 2008 season. Veteran Trey Nelson is still a juggernaut on the defensive side (linebacker) of the ball and has rushed for 214 yards and four touchdowns on offense. Mike Stasko and Rai Washington have also been formidable runners this season for Palmerton. Stasko (10-111), Sean Doherty (8-146), and Dominic Shivone (8-134-4TDs) have been the top receivers for the Bombers and can all make plays. Nick Sander and Jerry Pereira are speed guys that can also stretch the field.Perhaps the Bombers' biggest concern should be the speed and aggressiveness of the Spartans defense. They've amassed 11 sacks in five games and defensive standouts Nico Bonne (5 sacks, 8 TFL) and Mike Riccio (4 sacks, 8TFL) have been reeking havoc on opposing backfields."They're a very fast defense that likes to blitz a lot," said Walkowiak. "It will be a test up front for us and sometimes they might get to us back there. That's just the nature of the beast, but we need to be able to bounce back and make big plays. That's been the biggest difference in our offense this season than in past seasons is that we're making those explosive plays now. So, we have to be prepared to do that on Friday even in the wake of their pressure."