Forcing turnovers is good, but converting those turnovers into touchdowns is even better. Palmerton forced three first half turnovers against Wilson on Friday night, which helped the Bombers come away with a much-needed 35-0 shutout victory.

A Wilson (0-6) fumble on its possession set up an early score for Palmerton. Logan Anthony pounced on the ball after it popped out at the Palmerton 44.

The Bombers (2-4) went right to their quick passing attack, with a connection of 26 yards from T.K. Gursky to Ben Negley that put the ball at the Wilson 25. A few plays later, Gursky would find Vincent Taglieri on a sprint out pass for 24 yards to make it 7-0.

The Bombers quickly made it 14-0 at the 3:03 mark of the first, spurred by a huge defensive play by defensive back Alex Keiper. He read a Wilson pass to the left sideline around the Palmerton 35, intercepting the ball and then returning it all the way to the Wilson three-yard line.

A miscommunication on the snap on the Bombers goal line drive would move them back to the 16, and on a third-and-goal from the 16, TJ Weller would find Negley with a beautiful touch throw to the back left of the end zone to make it a two-score ball game.

“The quick pass game worked really well tonight. Our coaches did a good job with that and the key was that our receivers did a very good job of blocking tonight,” said Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak. “We ran some quick stuff early to get our quarterbacks some confidence and our guys made plays. And again, our receivers made great blocks all night.”

The Bombers extended their lead to 21-0 early in the second quarter at the 8:32 mark. This time, Palmerton was more methodical, pounding the ball with Michael Garey and Taglieri, going 10 plays and 55 yards capped off by a Gursky jump pass to Caleb Sagastume from the six-yard line. Sagastume made a nifty play going up and grabbing the ball away from two Wilson defenders.

Wilson was then able to come up with a big play on its ensuing drive off a 61-yard jolt from speedy running back J’Son Johnson, who took the ball all the way to the Palmerton 12. The big run happened right after Bombers’ standout defensive tackle/offensive guard and Rutgers commit Logan Anthony had to leave the game in an ambulance with an elbow injury.

But the Bombers would hold steady, with Keiper yet again making a momentum changing play, intercepting a Wilson pass at the goal line on a fourth-and-nine play to give the ball back to Palmerton at their own 20 with five minutes to play in the first half.

“On the first play, we were repping that play all week at practice. We knew it was something that they liked to run,” said Keiper. “I just read my keys and I made the play and then I turned into a receiver and I was able to make a good return out of it. Then they had a big play and got it down the field inside our five. But we kept our heads and we got the turnover again. Credit to the line on that play. They got pressure, he floated it up and I was able to make a play on the ball.”

The Bombers yet again made Wilson pay for its miscue, scoring just six plays later to make it a 28-0 game off a Taglieri 27-yard scamper up the middle with just over two minutes left in the half.

Palmerton would then put the game into the mercy rule at the 9:39 mark of the fourth frame off another explosive run from Taglieri, with the senior going around the right edge for a 40-yard rushing score.

“The fumble on their opening possession was huge. They had a few good runs on that drive and then they turned it over and we go down and score. That put momentum in our favor,” said Walkowiak. “We have really been on our guys about reading their keys, trusting their eyes and creating turnovers, and credit to our guys tonight, they went out there and they executed.

“I’m really proud of our effort tonight. A lot of guys made plays and we played complementary clean football. We were balanced, we didn’t turn the ball over and we created opportunities for ourselves.”

TK AND TJ … Palmerton has been playing two quarterbacks throughout the season. T.K. Gursky and TJ Weller combined for 129 yards passing and three touchdowns with no interceptions.

STINGY SECOND HALF … Wilson did put together some nice runs in the first half, but in the second half the Bombers shut down the Warriors’ rushing attack, holding them to just 21 yards on 14 carries.

EFFICIENT VINCENT … Taglieri made big plays in both the run and passing game on the night. The senior rushed for 110 yards and two scores on just 11 carries and also caught four balls for 73 yards and a receiving touchdown.

Palmerton 35, Wilson 0

Palmerton 14 14 0 7 - 35

Wilson 0 0 0 0 - 0

P - Taglieri 24 pass from Gurksy (Sell kick)

P - Negley 16 pass from Weller (Sell kick)

P - Sagastume 6 from Gursky (Sell kick)

P - Taglieri 27 run (Sell kick)

P - Taglieri 40 run (Sell kick)