The rivalry drama and edge-of-your-seat atmosphere.

The high-scoring first half and the defensive struggle in the second half.

The excitement of overtime and the thrill of victory and agony of defeat.

The rivalry between Palmerton and Northern Lehigh dates back a long way, and Friday night’s overtime thrill ride between the two programs lived up to the hype.

Joe Abidelli’s two-point conversion in overtime sealed a 43-42 win for the Bulldogs, who had to come from behind twice to top the Blue Bombers .

With the game locked at 35-35 at the end of regulation, Palmerton took the first possession from the 10-yard line and scored on a pass from Jordan Nelson to Ethan Recker. Nelson’s PAT gave the Bombers a 42-35 lead.

After a holding penalty on Northern Lehigh, the Bulldogs managed to get into the end zone on a fourth-and-goal from the one – and Northern Lehigh head coach Joe Tout decided to go for the win.

“I’m always a believer in that situation that it’s in your control,” he said. “Why prolong it, you know? We saw the push on third down and we just ran the same play.

“And it comes down to - who do you trust? And Carter Smith and Bryce Dye on that left side (of the line), they’re three-year starters.”

Abidelli found a hole and punched his way in for the game-winning trot.

“This feels nice. We had adversity with them being ahead and they’re a hard team, man,” Abidelli said. “They fight, so we just had to keep coming back, harder and harder and stronger.

“We just kept trying to push it down their throats and we scored there at the end.”

The late-game heroics by both sides almost didn’t need to happen, as near the end of regulation, a 39-yard field goal attempt by the Bombers came up a yard or two short, giving life to the Bulldogs.

“I think it was about a yard,” Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak said. “Jordan (Nelson) has made from 40- or 40-something in practices, but regardless, I’m so proud of our kids and the way they fought tonight.

This week, we had 14 kids in practice, so to go toe-to-toe with a great 6-4 team like them, it says a lot about the heart and will of our kids to hang tough with them.”

The Bombers were leading the game 35-28 with 8:02 to play in the fourth, but the Bulldogs fought back and tied it on a flea-flicker play when Zach Moyer connected with Trevor Amorim up the left sideline.

“There were a lot of games this year that we could’ve won and we fell a little short, so it feels great to win a tight one like this,” sophomore fullback Matt Frame said.

Both teams started fast, playing to a 28-28 tie at halftime.

The Bulldogs saw Mike Repsher score on a pair of TD runs and Evan Zambo hauled in a 62-yard pass from Moyer. Moyer also finished off the half with a 19-yard score.

Nelson ended his senior year in style for Palmerton with first-half TD runs of 32, 26 and 11 yards, while Andrew Sabo raced a 76-yard kickoff return back for a score.

“Someone’s gotta win and someone’s gotta lose, and their kids did a great job tonight and played a great game,” Tout added. “I’m just glad our kids came out on top.”

FULL NELSON

... Nelson rounded out his impressive career with another strong showing with a hand in four of his team’s six scores (one passing, three rushing). He was a formidable presence on defense (two sacks) and added to his career tackling record.

SPREADING IT OUT

... The Bulldogs had several heroes, as Moyer (seven carries, 43 yards; 5-for-14 passing, 162 yards; two passing scores; one rushing), Repsher (18 carries, 116 yards, two scores), Matt Frame (13 carries, 84 yards) and Abidelli all had nice outings.

HOLD IT HIGH

... The 248 Trophy was held high by the Bulldogs for the second year in a row.