Better late than never.

After being shut out in the first half, Jim Thorpe rallied with 20 unanswered fourth-quarter points at Palmerton on Friday night. Two critical turnovers and a pivotal stop on fourth-and-one all led to scores as the Olympians defeated the Bombers 26-10.

“We preach to our players all the time about how it’s a 48-minute game,” said Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger. “ At half, we told them ‘put those 24 minutes we just played behind you and come out and play hard for these next 24 minutes.’ And then our kids came out and made some big plays in the second half.

“The two interceptions were huge plays and then we were able to convert those into scores. This was an overall team win and when adversity hit these kids this week they didn’t fold and they continued to get after it and they attacked.”

The first half was a masterclass in red-zone defense by both teams.

Jim Thorpe marched 69 yards on 14 plays - 13 of them run plays - during its opening possession, driving all the way to Palmerton’s one-yard line while chewing the clock down to just under five minutes remaining in the first quarter. But the Olympians came away empty-handed when they fumbled on fourth-and-goal.

Palmerton then had several opportunities to put points on the board before halftime, but was unable to capitalize.

Following the Thorpe turnover, the Bombers pieced together a 12-play drive highlighted by a 37-yard connection from T.K. Gursky to Cale Young. The drive eventually reached a first-and-goal situation at the six-yard line, but Palmerton was again turned away.

Another JT fumble with 10:15 left in the half gave the Bombers good field position at the Olympians’ 19-yard line.

The Thorpe defense responded by forcing a 30-yard field-goal attempt that initially missed, though a roughing-the-kicker penalty kept the drive alive. Even with the second chance, Palmerton could not break through as the Olympians stood firm and forced a turnover on downs at the nine-yard line.

After another missed opportunity by Jim Thorpe, which started a drive at the Palmerton 19-yard line after a good punt return, ended with a turnover on downs at the 26.

The Bombers then finally broke through before half.

Palmerton put together an eight-play scoring drive, aided by a facemask penalty and a 15-yard personal foul, to set up Devlin Moyzan for a 42-yard field-goal attempt. Moyzan delivered, splitting the uprights to give the Bombers a 3-0 lead at the break.

The teams traded scores in the third quarter.

After forcing a three-and-out on Palmerton’s opening possession, Jim Thorpe quickly got its offense moving. Quarterback Tyler Hoherchak jump-started the ensuing drive with a 26-yard completion to Anger Rivera.

Three plays later, Hoherchak capped the march by keeping the ball on a quarterback run and racing 18 yards to the end zone, giving the Olympians a 6-3 lead.

Palmerton responded with a scoring drive after a strong kick return gave the Bombers good field position at their own 49-yard line.

The Bombers covered 51 yards in nine plays to reclaim the lead, 10-6, with 4:30 remaining in the third quarter. Young provided the spark, hauling in a 15-yard reception and adding 32 rushing yards during the drive, including a two-yard touchdown run.

Late in the third is when the turnover woes began for the Bombers.

Driving from the JT 33, Thorpe’s Kiehl made a great read on a pass, picking it off and returning to the Palmerton 10. Two plays later sophomore running back Bobby Levins cashed in from four yards out to put the Olympians back out in front 12-10.

“I thought our defense did a really good job in that first half and they settled in, keeping them off the scoreboard in the first half,” said Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak. “But in the second half, we just couldn’t get much going on offense and we made fundamental mistakes that led to turnovers. We have to work hard to clean that up. They got the two turnovers there in the second half and the big stop on a fourth and one and you combine that with them getting short fields from our miscues and that’s how they were able to generate momentum.

“But we told our guys the regular season is over now. We have to work hard to correct our mistakes and move on and prepare for a one game season here on a short week.”

Thorpe came up with the fourth-and-one stop at the Palmerton 29-yard line with 10:24 remaining in the fourth quarter, then turned to its ground game to extend the lead to 19-10.

Levins, who ran hard all night, accounted for 22 yards on three carries during the six-play drive. Hoherchak capped the march with a one-yard touchdown plunge.

Palmerton’s second interception of the game came with 6:56 remaining and the from their own 42-yard line. Defensive lineman Gaetano Sarnelli read a screen pass perfectly, tipping the ball behind the line of scrimmage before making the interception himself and returning it to the 22.

A Levins 18-yard run later set up his two-yard touchdown, pushing the lead to 26-10 and effectively putting the game out of reach with 6:43 left to play.

“I thought we were able to make some nice adjustments at the half,” said Rosenberger. “I don’t think we tackled very well in the first half and we had too many penalties that either set us back offensively or enhanced their drives, so we have to make sure we’re more disciplined there. This is a big win for us. Palmerton is a well coached football team with a lot of good athletes. Our guys executed and made plays when they needed to and that’s a sign of a team that is ready for the playoffs.”

GROUND AND POUND… Levins put together a tough running effort for JT, rushing 21 times for 121 yards and two touchdowns.

POSTSEASON… Both teams are in the District 11 3A playoffs, which will be played Thursday night. With the win, Thorpe jumped up to the No. 3 seed and will host No. 6 seed Tamaqua. Palmerton drops from the No. 3 seed to the No. 5 seed and will head to Allentown to take on No. 4 seed Executive Education.

Jim Thorpe 26, Palmerton 10

Jim Thorpe 0 0 6 20 - 26

Palmerton 0 3 7 0 - 10

P - Devlin Moyzan 41 FG

JT - Hoherchak 18 run (kick failed)

P - Young 2 run (Moyzan kick)

JT - Levins 4 run (kick failed)

JT - Hoherchak 1 run (Flyzik kick)

JT - Levins 2 run (Flyzik kick)