You can throw out the records any time Northern Lehigh and Palmerton meet in any sport.

The Bulldogs came into Friday’s contest with three straight wins, while the Bombers had lost four straight after beating Catasauqua in their opener.

But it didn’t matter. With the “Battle of Blue Mountain Trophy” and some District 11 playoff seeds on the line, both teams battled right to the end with the Blue Bombers pulling out a 31-26 win at home.

“It was another classic football game with two evenly matched teams,” said Palmerton had coach Chris Walkowiak. “We bent at times defensively but didn’t break and answered offensively when we had to.

“(Cole) Serfass and (Matt) Machalik are quite the (quarterback) tandem. They compliment each other very well and having two great kids that work so hard is just an added bonus.”

Palmerton put the first points on the scoreboard with 7:56 left in the first quarter, when Machalik snuck into the end zone from five yards out, which was set up by a 68-yard run by Serfass. Jon Perloni booted the PAT for the 7-0 lead.

The Bulldogs first scoring drive was set up by a fumble recovery by Austin Smith at their own 43. With time winding down in the opening stanza, Bulldog quarterback Dylan Smoyer found Trevor Amorim for his first of three TD passes on a 19-yard strike. Brett Misera’s point after tied it sending it onto the second quarter at 7-7.

Palmerton bounced right back when Machalik threw a perfect 38-yard strike to James Denicola into the end zone with 9:21 left in the half and Perloni’s boot made it 14-7.

“I didn’t even see the catch happen,” said Machalik. “I thought the defender knocked it down. Everyone just started chanting and I just got fired up after that.”

The Bombers were driving for a score right before the end of the half, but Northern Lehigh’s Jovanne Avila came up with an interception in the end zone with 24 seconds left to keep the Palmerton lead at seven at intermission.

The Bulldogs’ Mike Repsher intercepted a Bomber pass on the first play of the third quarter and it paid off, as Smoyer and Amorim hooked up again for a 42-yard TD and Misera’s kick tied it up at 14-14.

Serfass took over at quarterback for the Bombers as Machalik had to sit out a series after taking a big hit by the Bulldog defense, and the sophomore didn’t disappoint. He broke loose on a 44-yard touchdown run less than two minutes after the Nolehi score and Perloni’s boot made it 21-14.

But right back came the Bulldogs.

Smoyer threw his third touchdown of the night, this time with Repsher on the receiving end from 44 yards out, but the snap was mishandled on the extra point and Palmerton held onto the lead 21-20.

The Bulldogs caught the Bombers off guard on the kickoff, recovering an onside boot at the Palmerton 49. They failed to capitalize, turning it over on downs at the Bomber 29.

“It was tough for them to run on us,” said the Bombers’ Owen Buck, who was in the Bulldog backfield all night. “It just seemed like when we stopped their running game, you could see they were feeling the pressure up front.”

With Machalik back at the controls, the Bombers kept it on the ground and he broke a couple of tackles for a 40-yard score and Perloni’s point after made it 28-20 with 4:31 still left in the third quarter.

Palmerton was driving deep in Bulldog territory at the 14-yard line, but settled for a 30-yard Perloni field goal with 3:56 remaining to put the Bombers up 31-20.

The Bulldogs scored on another Smoyer to Repsher pass for a 14-yard TD, but that was the closest they could come.

“You have to give a lot of credit to Palmerton,” said Nolehi head coach Joe Tout. “They looked like a team playing for their playoff lives. We didn’t look like that. I thought we were flat off the bus. Palmerton beat us up up front.

“They had a good plan defensively. They sent the house. So we had to go to our passing game. We just didn’t have that intensity tonight.”

PLAYOFF PATTER

…Unofficially, it looks like the Bulldogs will be the No. 2 seed in the District 2A playoffs and host No. 7 seed Panther Valley next week, while the No. 3 Blue Bombers will host No. 6 Schuylkill Haven.

AIR BULLDOGS

…It’s been a long time since Northern Lehigh scored all of its touchdowns through the air, with all four coming on passes.

BARNBURNER

… Last year, it was the Bulldogs who pulled out an overtime win over the Bombers, but this year, Palmerton regained the Blue Mountain Trophy.