The instructions from Palmerton coach Chris Walkowiak to his team were simple.

After watching Tamaqua rally from a three-touchdown deficit to tie the Bombers early in the third quarter, Walkowiak’s words to his players were “let’s buckle up.”

The Bombers did exactly that.

Just two plays after the Blue Raiders tied the game, Palmerton quarterback Matt Machalik dropped back to pass, found his receivers covered, and scrambled 60 yards down the sideline and into the endzone.

The score quickly seized the momentum away from Tamaqua and propelled the “buckled up” Bombers to a 36-20 Colonial/Schuylkill League victory on Friday night.

“Our kids could’ve folded after Tamaqua tied the game,” said Walkowiak. “But we came right back to take the lead and then did a nice job of controlling play offensively and defensively the rest of the game.

“I’m proud of how we responded to adversity,”

Responding to adversity is always easier when you have someone like Machalik under center.

“We had a lot of kids step up and make plays for us on both sides of the ball after Tamaqua tied the game ... but obviously Matt’s big run was a key. Matt had that look in his eyes when the game got tight. You just had a feeling that he was going to find a way to make a play for us.”

Machalik’s 60-yard TD run came with 7:24 left in the thrid quarter. He followed it up with a two-point pass to Daniel Lucykanish to make it 28-20.

The next time the Bombers got the ball, Machalik drove them 63 yards in just six plays, hitting Lucykanish with an 18-yard pass, while also adding a 20-yard run in the march. Lucykanish raced the final seven yards for an insurance score with 2:21 left in the third quarter.

“Our kids did a great job battling back,” said Tamaqua coach Sam Bonner. “It could’ve got pretty ugly, but our kids never put their heads down. We tied it in the third quarter and seemed to have the momentum, but Machalik made so many big plays ... we just couldn’t overcome all of them.

“We’ve played against some really good quarterbacks this year, but he’s probably the best we’ve seen.”

The way the game started, it looked like it was going to be in the mercy rule by halftime.

Palmerton scored on three of its first four possessions as Machalik ran 35 and 37 yards for scores and also hit Cole Serfass with a 15-yard fourth-down TD pass.

Meanwhile, the Blue Raiders failed to pick up a first down on any of their first three possessions. The Bombers also added a blocked punt at the end of one of those possessions that set up the Machalik to Serfass touchdown pass.

“We got off to a great start tonight,” said Walkowiak. “It was complimentary football at its best. We got outstanding play from our offense, defense and special teams. We couldn’t have asked for a better first quarter. But give Tamaqua a lot of credit. They made some big plays to get back in the game.”

The Raiders comeback started when quarterback Luke Kane hit John Klein with a screen pass that Klein took 54 yards for a score with 10:18 left in the half.

Tamaqua made it interesting right before half when a blocked punt set up a short field. It took the Raiders just three plays to capitalize with Kane scoring on a sneak from two yards out.

Tamaqua took the second half kickoff 53 yards in seven plays with Kane scoring the tying TD on another quarterback sneak.

“We’re improving,” said Bonner. “We’ve done some nice things against really good teams the last two weeks. We still have to find a way to make a couple more plays offensively, but I can see our kids getting better.”

SLOW START ... Prior to the Kane to Klein pass that produced the first Tamaqua TD, the Raiders had gained a total of just 10 yards on their first 12 offensive plays from scrimmage.

BIG PLAYS ... Kendall Robinson set up the second Palmerton score when he blocked a Tamaqua punt deep in Raider territory. Kane had Tamaqua’s biggest defensive play when he picked off Machalik in the end zone on the final play of the firs half, keeping it a one score game.

RECORDS ... Palmerton improves to 6-3 while Tamaqua falls to 3-6. The Bombers have clinched a berth in the District 11 3A playoffs. The Raiders can qualify for districts by beating Panther Valley next week or if Lehighton or Pine Grove lose their last game.