KINTNERSVILLE – For Palmerton, it was a matter of turnovers and field position Friday night.

The Blue Bombers battled back from a first-half deficit with a valiant second-half effort, but they fell short against host Palisades, 30-20, at Walter T. Rohrer Stadium.

Palmerton (1-4) fumbled on its first play from scrimmage, and Palisades (5-2) capitalized three plays later to take a 7-0 lead.

The Pirates’ Kyle McGrath ended a late first-half Palmerton drive with an interception in a game that was still in play at 17-7 at halftime.

Aside from a heroic 91-yard touchdown pass from Cole Serfass to Ethan Recker, the Blue Bombers’ offense couldn’t find a consistent rhythm in the opening 24 minutes.

On the other hand, Palmerton kept Palisades’ potent running attack in check most of the night, and held the Pirates to three touchdowns.

Yet, the Blue Bombers couldn’t overcome four key turnovers on the night.

“Turnovers and short-field position killed us,” said Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak. “I thought our defense played pretty well holding them to field goal attempts. We spotted them early, but we stopped them a number of other times.

“They had a good running game coming in and we were controlling it. But at the end of the night, we made too many mistakes.”

The Blue Bombers didn’t waste any chances at the start of the second half , as they produced a methodical, 14-play, 81-yard drive that resulted in quarterback Matthew Machalik dumping a 4-yard touchdown pass to Joey DeRossi that narrowed the gap to 20-14 with 3:04 left in the third quarter.

“They knew we didn’t play our best half of football, and they responded in the second half,” added Walkowiak. “At halftime, we got a little spirited and they took things to heart. We stopped them deep in our end, and then we come back with that long drive. We had some opportunities, but we needed to finish things up.”

Palmerton got the ball back when Palisades went three-and-out on its next possession, and momentum appeared to be shifting to the Blue Bombers. However, Palisades’ Daniel Kelleher picked off a Machalik pass deep in their own end.

Two plays later, the Pirates’ Mason Smeland burst free on an 11-yard scamper that quickly shifted the tide back in the Pirates’ favor at 27-14 in the final minute of the third quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter, Palmerton muffed a punt and Palisades recovered deep in their end. The Pirates Michael Wallbillich added his third and final field goal of the night that gave the Pirates a 30-14 cushion with 8:41 left in the game.

Machalik had 86 of his game-high 131 yards rushing in the second half, and he engineered a final drive that ended with 12-yard pass to James Denicola that brought the Blue Bombers to within 10 points with 2:37 remaining.

Palisades sealed the win when they recovered the ensuing onsides kick

QUARTERBACK, QUARTERBACK ... Machalik spilt time with Cole Serfass, who started the game. Serfass had the Bombers’ highlight of the night when he hurled a pass downfield as he was ready to be chased out of bounds and connected with Ethan Recker on a 91-yard scoring strike.

FAMILIAR FINALE ... The Blue Bombers will close out the season at home next Friday when they host Northern Lehigh.

1,000-YARD CLUB ... Smeland, who caught touchdown passes of 57 and 26 yards, passed the 1,000-yard season mark with his 117-yard effort.

DISTRICT DATE? ... With their victory, Palisades has a stranglehold on the top spot in the Class 2A bracket. Palmerton is currently fourth. If the teams remain in those positions they would meet in the D-11 semifinals.