PEN ARGYL — Palmerton wanted a sharper, more complete performance.

The Blue Bombers got it.

Behind a relentless defensive effort, an efficient and balanced rushing attack and a breakout performance from Connor Lawless, Palmerton controlled Pen Argyl for a 35-0 victory Saturday afternoon to remain unbeaten at 5-0.

And Lawless was at the center of much of it.

The senior turned his first carry of the season into a 28-yard touchdown and finished with 113 yards on just eight attempts. He also recovered a fumble, and returned an interception 41 yards for a touchdown.

“Connor, I mean, just a tremendous kid. I’m so happy for him,” Palmerton coach Chris Walkowiak said. “Captain, two-year captain, gritty. He’s the kid, he’s the heart and soul. He’s the Energizer Bunny for us.”

After Palmerton went three-and-out on its opening possession, Pen Argyl (1-4) quickly moved from its own 45 to the Bombers’ 25.

But a false start and a bad snap that resulted in a 21-yard loss helped unravel the drive before a botched punt attempt gave Palmerton possession at the Pen Argyl 39.

Four plays later, Lawless broke free for a 28-yard touchdown. Devlin Moyzan’s extra point made it 7-0 with 5:23 remaining in the first quarter.

“The blocks were great,” Lawless said. “No one inside there. Gaven Meixsell had a great block outside right there, and I just got to run right in from there.”

Palmerton continued to capitalize on favorable field position.

A stiff wind knocked down Pen Argyl’s punt on its next possession, giving the Bombers the ball at the Green Knights’ 36. Four plays later, Cale Young scored on a 9-yard run to make it 14-0 with 1:15 left in the opening quarter.

Palmerton’s third scoring drive began at the Pen Argyl 46. T.K. Gursky broke free for 23 yards on third-and-1 to keep the possession alive before connecting with Jacob Walkowiak for a 3-yard touchdown.

The Bombers led 21-0 with 6:53 left in the first half, with their three touchdown drives covering just 39, 36 and 46 yards.

“Complementary football that we talked about a lot at practice,” Chris Walkowiak said.

Pen Argyl threatened to make things interesting after the break.

The Green Knights drove to the Palmerton 18 on the opening possession of the second half before Lawless recovered a fumble with 4:53 remaining in the third quarter.

Pen Argyl got another opportunity after Alex Harper recovered a Palmerton fumble and eventually earned first-and-goal from the 9.

Once again, the Bombers refused to break.

A bad snap, and a Mason Konze tackle, resulted in a six-yard loss before Parker Davis sacked quarterback Keegan Hettel on fourth-and-goal from the 7 to preserve the shutout.

“We just had to breathe and calm down,” said Konze, another team captain. “They were going into hurry-up, and we just had to breathe and don’t be afraid.”

Palmerton’s defensive front, with Konze, Davis and Colson Ruzicka among those applying pressure, continually came up with stops when Pen Argyl threatened.

“I’m just happy how we responded, bending, not breaking there, and then being able to put the game away,” Walkowiak said.

Palmerton did just that despite running only eight offensive plays in the entire second half.

Taking over at its own 8 following Davis’ sack, Lawless ripped off runs of nine and 56 yards before Young raced 26 yards to the Pen Argyl 1. Gursky scored on the next play to make it 28-0 with 6:38 remaining.

Lawless then delivered the exclamation point.

With Palmerton generating pressure and knocking down consecutive passes around the line of scrimmage, Lawless stepped in front of a fourth-down pass and raced 41 yards for a touchdown.

“I said all week we’re going to score defensively,” Walkowiak said. “I kept telling them we’re going to score, and Connor delivered on that one.”

Moyzan’s extra point made it 35-0 with 5:02 remaining and put the mercy rule into effect.

Palmerton finished with 236 yards rushing on 29 carries. Young added 74 yards and a touchdown on 10 attempts, while Gursky rushed 10 times for 50 yards and a score and threw for another touchdown.

For Walkowiak, the performance was the response he wanted after the Bombers were plagued by penalties and mistakes in last week’s victory over Catasauqua.

“Our discipline was much better,” Walkowiak said. “Last week we had shot ourselves in the foot a lot of times with penalties and inopportune plays. But I think defensively, we were in position. We were more focused in the alignment and assignment and had an idea what they were going to do based off of their formation. We were more tuned in.”

The result was Palmerton’s fifth victory in as many games.

Konze wasn’t interested in making too much of the perfect start.

“No big deal,” he said. “Like my coach said, no big deal. It’s just onto next week.”

UP NEXT ... Palmerton travels to Salisbury next Saturday at 1 p.m. Pen Argyl visits Wilson on Friday.

Palmerton 35, Pen Argyl 0

Palmerton 14 7 0 14 - 35

Pen Argyl 0 0 0 0 - 0

P - Lawless 28 run (Moyzan kick)

P - Young 9 run (Moyzan kick)

P - Walkowiak 3 pass from Gursky (Moyzan kick)

P - Gursky 1 run (Moyzan kick)

P - Lawless 41 interception return (Moyzan kick)