Palisades left Walter T. Rohrer Stadium with a sick feeling about how the first half played out.
Northern Lehigh coach Joe Tout had a sinking feeling in his stomach about how the first 15 seconds of the second half played out.
The Pirates took advantage of a couple blocks and Lincoln Cook’s speed to take control for good on the first play of the third quarter.
The junior burst up the middle with the kickoff and returned it 97 yards for what turned out to be the game-winning score in Friday night’s 28-14 Palisades win to improve to 4-0.
“It was designed to go down the middle,” Cook said. “I followed my blocking. Everybody did a great job blocking. I made a few moves and it was a touchdown from there.”
Tout could only watch as Cook did exactly what he feared could do.
“My gut told me not to [kick it deep],” he admitted. “That’s on me. We shouldn’t have. That was the difference.”
The Bulldogs (2-2) never recovered because they continued to make mistakes at crucial times in a myriad of ways, including missed tackles, wrong personnel packages and poor pass coverage.
Northern Lehigh scored twice in its first three possessions before managing only one first down in its next four series.
Palisades scored on its first offensive series of the second half on a 54-yard touchdown pass from Jack Trickel to Mason Schultz on third-and-17.
“We hold them and get a third-and-long,” Tout added. “How we let a guy get behind us is beyond me.”
The Bulldogs then had first and goal at the Pirates’ 7-yard line, but a negative play, a penalty and wrong personnel on another play squandered their last chance to come back in the fourth quarter.
The Pirates ran out the final 6 minutes, 50 seconds with three first downs, the first one coming on third-and-9 thanks to Jack Trickel’s escape from a heavy rush for a 10-yard gain.
Trickel completed 13 of 17 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns and had 49 rushing yards to lead Palisades’ offense.
“They sent a guy off the edge to the side I was supposed to roll out to,” Trickel said of his Houdini act on the game-clinching third-down play. “I just had to adjust and make a play. It’s just instincts, heart and desire deciding to take over.”
The teams exchanged touchdowns in each quarter during the first half.
Northern Lehigh drove 60 yards in seven plays on the game’s first series, capped by Grady Newhard’s 20-yard touchdown at the 8:34 mark of the first quarter. A third-down completion from Garrett Smoyer to Ryan Zambo kept the drive alive.
Palisades was stopped on fourth down at the Northern Lehigh 21 on its first offensive series, but got a Trickel interception return the Bulldogs’ 29.
The Pirates tied the score four plays later on Ashton Fitzgerald’s 4-yard touchdown run with 2:11 left. A 29-yard completion from Trickel to Silas Day set up the score after Trickel eluded a strong pass rush.
Fitzgerald had been out with an injury since the first quarter of the first game. He rushed for 76 yards on 14 carries.
Northern Lehigh responded with a 13-play, 66-yard drive capped by Chris Frame’s 6-yard TD run on third down. The Bulldogs converted four times on third down during that series.
Palisades answered with a seven-play, 76-yard scoring drive to get even again at 14 on a 27-yard touchdown pass from Trickel to Day with 4:18 left in the first half. Trickel’s 18-yard run and 19-yard pass to Cook were big plays on the series.
Game notes
The teams split the previous 10 meetings with Northern Lehigh winning the two most recent matchups before Friday. … Chase Smith had a sack and another tackle for loss for Palisades, which produced seven negative plays. … Bill Slattery had a sack, Bryce Nance and Kaden Quinones added tackles for loss for Northern Lehigh.
Up next
Northern Lehigh hosts Palmerton at 7:10 p.m. Friday. Palisades is at Pen Argyl at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20.
PALISADES 28, NORTHERN LEHIGH 14
Northern Lehigh: 7; 7; 0; 0 — 14
Palisades: 7; 7; 14; 0 — 28
ORDER OF SCORING
First quarter
NL: Grady Newhard 20 run (Anthony Hanna kick), 8:34
P: Ashton Fitzgerald 4 run (Blake Oglialoro kick), 2:11
Second quarter
NL: Chris Frame 6 run (Hanna kick), 7:41
P: Jack Trickel 27 pass to Silas Day (Oglialoro kick), 4:18
Third quarter
P: Lincoln Cook 97 kick return (Oglialoro kick), 11:46
P: Trickle 54 pass to Mason Schultz (Oglialoro kick), 5:45
TEAM STATISTICSNL; PalFirst downs; 15; 15Rushes-yards; 38-199; 25-129Passing yards; 56; 203Comp-Att-INTs; 8-12-1; 13-17-0Punts-avg.; 3-32.7; 2-38.5Fumbles-lost; 0-0; 1-0Penalties-yards; 4-25; 6-45
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRushing: (Northern Lehigh) Grady Newhard 11-62, TD; Chris Frame 8-46, TD; Garrett Smoyer 16-52; Ryan Zambo 2-40; Mason Rothrock 1-(-1); (Palisades) Max Woerner 1-4; Jack Trickel 8-49; Ashton Fitzgerald 14-76, TD; Lincoln Cook 1-1; team 1-(-1).
Passing: (Northern Lehigh) Smoyer 8-12-1, 56 yards; (Palisades) Trickel 13-17-0, 203 yards, 2 TDs.
Receiving: (Northern Lehigh) Frame 3-19; Zambo 4-20; Colin Karetsky 1-17; (Palisades) Lincoln Cook 7-75; Fitzgerald 2-15; Silas Day 2-56, TD; Woerner 1-3; Mason Schultz 1-54, TD.
Senior writer Tom Housenick can be reached at thousenick@mcall.com
