To steal a phrase from Palmerton’s public address announcer, Bill Zeky, the Palmerton football team has had a “squadron of Blue Bombers” that have contributed to the team’s offensive success this season.

Senior Daniel Lucykanish has served as one of the aces of that group, because of his versatility and explosiveness in both the passing and running game.

Lucykanish’s diverse and dynamic skill set was once again on display last week in the Bombers’ 53-28 victory over Pine Grove.

The Cardinals had no answers for the Palmerton offense (569 total yards of offense) and especially Lucykanish, who was able to break off numerous big plays, earning him Times News Player of the Week honors.

“Coming into the season, we knew Daniel was going to be a special player for us because of his versatility. He runs great routes as a receiver; he is one of our best route runners on the team and he also runs the ball just how you want a running back to run the football with good vision, with physicality and always falling forward,” said Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak. “Against Pine Grove, we really liked the match-ups that Daniel had in the game and wanted to get him the football, and he went out there and made plays.”

Lucykanish got it going both on the ground, and through the air, against Pine Grove.

He came through with two receiving touchdowns on the night on 22- and 15-yard receptions, finishing with four catches for 90 yards at an impressive 22.5 yards per catch.

Lucykanish also served as a focal point of the Bombers rushing attack, carrying the ball 11 times for 93 yards.

In all, Lucykanish complied 183 yards of total offense for Palmerton, with an average of 13 yards per touch.

“We came into the game last week wanting to get our offense going early. Our coaches did a good job of getting our play-makers in the right positions, and when I got my opportunities, I was able to make some plays,” said Lucykanish. “Our offensive line did a nice job opening up holes in the game, and Matt (Machalik) made some nice throws and put the ball where it needed to be. I think our running backs and receivers all complement each other really well.”

Playmakers like Lucykanish are the reason why the Palmerton offense has been one of the best in both the Times News area and throughout District 11 this season. The Bombers’ offense is averaging 41.5 points per game, and 442.2 yards of total offense per game.

Luckykanish has certainly been doing his part, ranking second on the team with 209 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and second on the team in receiving yards with 458 yards. He also leads the team with seven receiving scores, and is second in total touchdowns with 10.

“Last season really gave me confidence, even though I kind of got off to a slow start. So, coming into this season I really focused on getting off to a fast start, and I think that has made an impact for us,” said Lucykanish. “As a team, we had a really good offseason with our lifting and speed drills and just working out together. I think that’s a big reason why we have such a high-powered offense this season.”