CENTER VALLEY - Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak knew how important stopping Southern Lehigh's explosive plays would be.

It's hard to imagine what one play could have done. But after keeping the Spartans' offense in check for much of the first quarter, one snap seemed to ignite an offensive avalanche that couldn't be stopped.A 52-yard flee flicker on the third-to-last play of the first quarter set up a Southern Lehigh field goal just 10 seconds into the second quarter. The Spartans (2-0) would go on to score 44 straight points in a 44-0 rout of Palmerton (1-1)."Big plays - they did it to Northern Lehigh and they did it to us," Walkowiak said. "They are capable of doing that. We were actually yelling to watch for the big play there. They made the plays."After that Spartan field goal broke a scoreless game, Southern Lehigh put on a clinic offensively and showed off its weapons. Quarterback Logan Edmond capped the Spartans' next drive with a 6-yard touchdown run up the middle. Edmond then connected with Elijah Price (who finished with 110 receiving yards) for a touchdown on the next possession."We just didn't play our brand of football," Walkowiak said. "We talked all week about focusing on ourselves and focusing on fundamentals … We allowed the big play. We said we have to limit the big play. We have to make them earn everything they got."Edmond found a wide-open Nathan Derby for a touchdown in the final seconds of the first half. But Southern Lehigh's scoring was far from over.Luke Strauss burst through Southern Lehigh's offensive line for 31 yards to the house to put the Spartans in front 31-0. On their next possession, Strauss did it again with a 2-yard touchdown run just two minutes into the fourth quarter."We weren't as fundamentally sound as we were in the past," Walkowiak said. "But the past is the past. We didn't continue to grow this week. That's frustrating. When you have a young team, though, you're expecting the ups and downs."A week after putting on an offensive showing against Northwestern, which featured over 450 total yards, Palmerton could not generate any momentum against the Spartans. The Blue Bombers didn't cross midfield into Spartan territory until the third quarter."They did everything that we expected them to do," Walkowiak said. "It was a matter of us doing our job, doing our execution, blocking our assignments and running our routes. We will correct it on Monday."A TALE OF TWO WEEKS ... Palmerton quarterback Tekoah Guedes, who lit up the scoreboard for 351 total yards and four touchdowns, was held to just 64 against Southern Lehigh.THINGS DON'T GET EASIER ... After a game on the road at Northwestern to open the season, and then Friday's tilt with one of the league favorites in Southern Lehigh, Palmerton will face Saucon Valley in Week 3.NOTHING LIKE HOME ... The Blue Bombers spent their first two weeks on the road, but will return home for Week 3 against the Panthers. Palmerton will play its first game on its new artificial turf. Only two other Colonial League teams (Salisbury and Bangor) played both of its first two games on the road.