With playoff possibilities all but gone, Palmerton and Northern Lehigh boys soccer duked it out one last time this season with their seniors taking the spotlight.

Tuesday night’s senior festivities at Bulldog Stadium featured a total of nine seniors combined between the two squads.

Once the pregame ceremonies subsided, the two rivals went back-and-forth until a second-half goal propelled the Blue Bombers to a 1-0 victory.

To the disappointment of those who are fans of rivalry matchups, this was the only game these two schools played against one another, but Bulldogs’ head coach Tristan Moore believed that the rivalry still lived up to its name.

“They are a good rival of ours, and obviously in years past they’ve gotten the best of us,” he said. “It’s one of those teams that we’re well matched against.”

It didn’t take long to see how evenly-matched these teams were, as both traded scoring chances, one after the other.

Palmerton held the advantage in quantity of shots, but Nolehi registered more of the best quality looks.

The most noticeable opportunity came midway through the first half when Bombers’ goalkeeper and senior Kurt Jedrejczyk made a save that dribbled to the goal line before diving on top of the ball to keep the game scoreless through halftime.

Jedrejczyk put up six saves while also making numerous defensive plays to break up cross-seam passes and corner plays.

“I’m just doing what I’m supposed to do, and I’m just trying my best,” he said. “It’s my first year, so I just had a lot of fun. It was a really good experience, and experiencing soccer for the first time is definitely something I recommend to everybody.”

The second half saw a similar story with good quality shots from the Bulldogs, but more improved overall performance from the Bombers.

Finally, with 18:46 remaining in the game, the ice broke for the visitors off a free kick. After landing close in front of the Nolehi net, Palmerton senior Colton Ruzicka emerged from a multi-player scramble to jam home the game’s only goal; a fitting way for the senior to cap off his high school career.

“Coming into the half, we knew we needed a goal and I just did it for these guys,” he said. “I do everything for them. It’s amazing, and it’s been a really fun experience.”

“They played a good season; the first few games were tough, but we got it together and they worked their butts off,” Bombers’ head coach Antonio Orlando said about his team’s season.

“This season, (we taught them) to organize themselves a little bit on the field. They were passing the ball, they got familiar with each other. Next year, hopefully, we can get that done a little faster, a little quicker at the beginning of the season so we can win more games.”

For the home team, ending the year on a loss is disappointing, but not something coach Moore wants them to hang their heads over. In addition, he also wants his team to recognize how much promise the youth of his team has going forward.

“If you look at our team as a whole, a lot of our starters were freshmen,” he said. It was a big culture shock for them because they’re coming from a middle school spring season and then popping up into a fall (season), and due to our numbers, a lot of them played varsity and handled themselves incredibly.

“We have a great midfield that’s young, and (freshman) Gustavo Rosario, he’s played goalie for only a couple of years. All I see is just a good promise for him in the future.”

A PROUD FATHER … This senior night was different for NL’s coach Moore, as his son Ethan will also be graduating from the team. “I’ve coached him pretty much almost all my life,” he said. “But to watch him grow from a young boy to a young man and accomplish what he has accomplished in PIAA, there’s no words that can express how proud I am of him.”

FINAL SENDOFF … Three seniors will graduate from Palmerton: Kurt Jedrejczyk, Colton Ruzicka, and Garrett Warner. Northern Lehigh sees six players graduate: Skyler Loos, Dragon Millroy, Ethan Moore, Isaac Jackovitz, Kimball Michalek, and Zaid Salih.

Palmerton 1, Northern Lehigh 0

Palmerton 0 1 - 1

Northern Lehigh 0 0 - 0

Goals: Palmerton - Colton Ruzicka 1; Northern Lehigh - None; Shots: Palmerton 23; Northern Lehigh 16; Saves: Palmerton - Kurt Jedrejczyk 6; Northern Lehigh - Gustavo Rosario 6; Corners: Palmerton 5; Northern Lehigh 5.

Records: Palmerton (6-10-1; 5-9-1 CL); Northern Lehigh (7-11; 3-11 CL).