David vs. Goliath.

It’s a common sports term when comparing the size of opponents, and on Friday night Palmerton will face off with a Goliath of an opponent in Southern Lehigh in the Week 2 Times News Game of the Week.

Size is something the Spartans (1-0, 1-0 CL) have plenty of with a roster more than double the size of the Bombers (1-0, 1-0 CL), while returning all five starting offensive linemen from a season ago. Southern Lehigh’s big boys up front average well over the 200-pound mark across the board, and they used that size up front to pound the football against a perennial Colonial League contender in Saucon Valley last week, defeating the Panthers 45-13.

The Spartans top runner, Asher Smith, brings nice size to the table as well, standing at 6-1 190 pounds. Smith rushed for over 150 yards last week, scoring four touchdowns. It’s evident that the Spartans will once again look to pound the rock against a much smaller Palmerton defensive line.

“There’s no denying Southern Lehigh is a physical team with a good running game, and we know they’re going to try and use their size and pound the football on us,” said Bombers head coach Chris Walkowiak. “Playing Jim Thorpe in our scrimmage, I think that gave us an idea of how physical we need to play against teams that are big and strong up front, and I think we did a good job of that last week. We just need to continue that approach and control what we can by executing.”

The Spartans running game proved a problem last week not only because of their size, but also because of their strength and ability to make Saucon Valley miss with the other storyline of that matchup being that the Panthers had a bunch of missed tackles.

Sound tackling will be key for the Bombers Friday night.

“We have to tackle well, there’s just no doubt about that. Against the Wing T, you have to be disciplined, read your keys and swarm to the football. If we don’t get a runner down on the first try we have to have three or four other blue jerseys around the football,” added Walkowiak. “That’s something we did a good job of last week.”

For the Bombers, grinding it out with Southern Lehigh in the trenches is going to be tough, so explosive plays on offense (274 yards rushing, 8.56 yards per carry in week one) plus defensive turnovers and defensive scores will be key once again as they were last week against Palisades. Palmerton forced four interceptions last week, with two of them being taken back for touchdowns.

Bombers defensive back Ethan Recker lived up to his name as he was a one-man wrecking ball in the secondary for Palmerton, coming through with three interceptions, returning one for a score.

“Ethan might not have gotten as much press as some of our other guys in the preseason, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t have. He started every game for us in a few different spots last year, and he brings that blue-collar attitude to practice everyday,” said Walkowiak. “He’s settling in back there in then secondary and working on his craft and everyone saw a glimpse last week that his hard work is paying off.”

Another key for the Bombers will be to keep moving their versatile players all over the field to exploit match-up. Palisades head coach Ramie Moussa admitted last week that talented quarterback/wide receiver Jordan Nelson moving around on offense threw them for a bit of a loop defensively. Nelson, Lucas Heydt and Freshman Cole Serfass can all play the quarterback position with Nelson (6-2, 190) also splitting out wide where he can be a mismatch week in and week out.

“We’re going to take what they give us and most importantly we have to be efficient,” said Walkowiak. “We can’t miss opportunities when we’re presented with them and we absolutely have to take care of the football.”