Palmerton's Mike Stasko and Garrett Perschy continued to impress in their senior season, leading the Blue Bombers to a 40-7 dismantling of third-seeded Minersville in the first round of the District 11 Class 2A football championships on Saturday.

As impressive as the Bombers' offensive showing was, the defense was just as dominating. Palmerton limited the Miners to 40 total yards of offense and a mere two first downs until the final seven minutes of the contest."Our defense has been incredibly huge in the past four games, and we've been so physical," Stasko said. "Our defensive line has been playing some smash mouth football."I thought we did a great job of setting the tone up front and containing them on the run tonight."In fact, if not for a Bomber penalty in the second quarter, the Miners would have had just one first down through three quarters of play."We've been practicing our defense a lot and pursuing the ball and finishing tackles," Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak said. "The kids are so determined and in the last four games, we've only been giving up an average of about nine points a game."Minersville is a tough team that can pound the ball. We're really excited about our defensive effort."Against Minersville (5-6), the Bomber offense began the contest in strong fashion again, scoring on their first possession. Perschy connected with freshman Jordan Nelson on a 15-yarder to go up 6-0.Following a Miners punt, Palmerton went back to work and Perschy bounced in from the six for a 12-0 lead with 3:26 left in the first. However, the Bombers' next two drives yielded little."Our offense was driving the ball early," Perschy said. "But we got a little complacent on two or three drives, here and there."We talked about it on the sideline that we wanted more and we needed to keep the pedal to the floor. Even if we're up 7 or 14, we needed to keep driving and keep making things happen."That they did.Perschy found Stasko on a screen, and following two broken tackles and a flurry of cross-field cuts, Stasko raced away for a 53-yard score for an 18-0 lead.A Minersville turnover on downs gave the ball back to the hosts, and Stasko broke a couple more potential tacklers on the first play from scrimmage for a 39-yard TD scamper.The Bombers then tacked on two more second half scores, enforcing the mercy rule with 7:07 left on the clock.With plans for a new turf field for next season, Palmerton closes this chapter of Blue Bomber football history, winning the final game on that real estate."It feels great to get a win," Perschy said. "We knew coming in, that we would be the last senior class and team to play on this field. With one of our goals being to make it to districts, we fought our way through this season to be able to earn a home game."To have a game on this field in districts is huge because it means a lot to the community and to the school. It's great being able to send this field off with a win."UP NEXT ... With the win, the Bombers (6-5) will now face top-seeded Schuylkill Haven at Pottsville on Saturday at 7 p.m.BOND, BOMBER BOND ... "I'm so proud of the kids," Walkowiak said afterward. "They're fighters, they're scrappy, and showed that by winning their last four games to get us into this spot. I'm proud of the coaching staff and everybody for coming together and bonding. It's an exciting time."PLAYOFF PLAN ... Walkowiak and company are well-aware of the challenge that lies ahead in the final, going up against Schuylkill Haven. "There are some things we need to work on," Walkowiak said. "Finishing up in the red zone, special teams, along with other areas. Haven is going to be a very tough opponent, so right now, we're just focusing on fixing ourselves, and go from there."INTEGRAL INJURY ... Early on, junior running back Kei'dre Taylor, a vital part of the Miners' success, was taken out via ambulance following an injury.RICH HISTORY ... Since the last time Palmerton won a district title game (1993), Schuylkill Haven has copped seven district championships (1994, 1998, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2013 - all in Class 1A).