Quarterback Tekoah Guedes has been the trigger-man for the Palmerton offense this season.

The senior has used his arm and his legs to power a high-flying Blue Bombers’ attack that has averaged almost 29 points and 300 yards of offense per game this season.

But Palmerton got a jolt from a different source against Northern Lehigh.

Two special teams touchdowns fueled the Blue Bombers in a 35-14 Colonial League victory over Northern Lehigh in the regular season finale Friday.

“It’s huge. It’s just a spark, and then the fire ignites from there,” said Guedes. “That’s our thing, we always want to start - have a moment. Each play leads to a moment, and we had some big moments early and that set the tone for us.”

The first flash came before Guedes even took a snap.

After Palmerton (7-3) forced a three-and-out on Northern Lehigh’s opening drive of the game, Cody Waterhouse took the ensuing punt 77 yards for a score to give the Blue Bombers a 7-0 lead. A Guedes 13-yard run made it 14-0 late in the first period.

The Bulldogs (0-10) made it a one score game when Zach Long found Damion Rodriguez for a 22-yard score. Mason Seiler hit Rodriguez for a successful two-point conversion try to cut the deficit to 14-8 at the start of the second quarter.

Palmerton answered. This time it was Mike Eckhart taking a kickoff 88 yards for a score to push the Blue Bombers lead to 21-8.

“Special teams was big early on, definitely, with two scores coming off special teams there,” said Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak. “We knew Northern Lehigh was gonna be tough. We knew it was a rivalry game, and they were gonna be ready to play. They did a lot of good things on film, so we had a lot of respect for them doing that, and credit to them.”

Northern Lehigh again made it a one score game late in the second quarter when Justin Paul went in from seven yards out to make it 21-14.

The Blue Bombers marched 67 yards on their next drive, a highlighted by a 47-yard pass from Guedes to Eckhart. After a pass interference penalty, Eckhart went in from 10 yards out to increase Palmerton’s lead to 28-14 with 33 second remaining in the first half.

“It’s huge,” said Guedes, who finished with 115 yards passing and 155 rushing. “We got a ton of playmakers all over the field. We have trust in every single person. And we know everybody’s gonna go out and make plays. It’s a great attribute for us.”

A nifty 51-yard pass from Gage Hunsicker to Paul late in the third quarter looked like it might go for six. But Paul went down, and the Bulldogs’ drive ended on fourth down at the Palmerton 28-yard line with the score still 28-14.

“Our kids fought the whole time,” said Northern Lehigh head coach Joe Tout. “In the second half, it would have been interesting, it’s 28-14, we throw the double-pass, that’s kinda been the story of our year, our kid Northern Lehigh didn’t cross midfield the rest of the way.

“Our defense settled down, and we kept them off the board,” said Walkowiak. “I’m proud of the kids and how they responded to doing things.”

A three-yard touchdown from Luke Yaindl with 4:48 remaining in the fourth quarter set the final score.

“We did some nice things,” said Tout. “At the end of the day, it’s just the consistency part. And we always talk about, three parts of the game - offense, defense and special teams. And we didn’t win in all three.”

BREAKOUT

... Yaindl had just one carry coming into the game. With halfbacks Andrew Sabo and Aaron Stasko out with injury, the senior carried 14 times for 77 yards. “Aaron Stasko went down and Andrew (Sabo) went down, so I really felt, running with a purpose that I was doing it for those two guys. I feel like I really did it well,” said Yaindl.

“That’s what we expect. He’s a senior, he’s been around for four years. We talked about taking advantage of your opportunity, and Luke made the most of his opportunity. He ran with a purpose and an attitude, and that’s all him. He’s a character kid, and a quality kid, and I’m so proud of him and that’s the effort that ... that’s why he’s a captain and a leader for us,” said Walkowiak.

STREAKING

... Palmerton has now won four straight games in the series. Northern Lehigh’s last win was a 22-21 triumph in 2013.