Friday night was Senior Night at Palisades and the Pirates had a tough matchup against the Salisbury Falcons. The Falcons were looking for their first win of the season, losing last week, and the Pirates were looking to get their third win of the season. When talking to both head coaches before the game, the key for the Falcons would be to stop the Pirates’ offensive line, while Palisades was going to be watching out for Salisbury’s throwing game.
Salisbury took the lead first, a first quarter touchdown by Chad Parton with a little less than two minutes left in the quarter. They went for the two-point conversion, but were not able to complete it, keeping the score 6-0 in favor of Salisbury.
Action for the second quarter started off when Austin Winters made an interception for Palisades. Mason Smeland continued this drive and went in for the eight-yard touchdown. Delaney Hilfrety kicked the extra point, and the Pirates were back in the game, now 7-6.
About two plays later, the Falcons scored themselves, with Giovanni Hines completing the touchdown. Once again the Falcons tried for the two-point conversion, but it fell incomplete. The action for quarter two wasn’t finished when Quinton Stevens ran in a touchdown, widening Salisbury’s lead to 18-7.
For the third time in the game, Salisbury tried for the two-point conversion and fell short. With four minutes left in the half, Smeland scored his second touchdown of the game, making the score 18-14 with the extra point. It remained 18-14 after the close of the first half.
Palisades started off the third quarter early, with Smeland scoring a touchdown in the first few minutes. This pushed the Pirates to have the lead, 21-18. They were able to widen their lead even further when quarterback Jaden Newton pushed in for the one-yard touchdown.
Excitement filled the Palisades stands until Joshua Brooks for Salisbury scored the first touchdown of the fourth quarter. The Falcons chose to go for the extra point, and made it, shortening the Pirates’ lead to 28-25. With two minutes left in the game, Salisbury had a nice drive down field and were in scoring position until Kyle McGrath made the game saving interception. As the clock wound down, Palisades was able to come up with their third victory of the season.
The Salisbury Falcons will be home next week against Pen Argyl and Palisades will be away against Bangor.
