HS Football: Lazorick lifts Jim Thorpe past Palmerton

Jim Thorpe's Cole Lazorick (Photo by Leroy Boyer)

PALMERTON — A new season brings new opportunities for some, while others return like it’s just another day at the office.

Saturday night saw Palmerton host Jim Thorpe to kick off the start of the 2025 football season for both teams.

The host Blue Bombers managed to get a second-quarter lead, but the Olympians rallied behind a strong game from senior quarterback Cole Lazorick to gain a 28-14 win.

Palmerton, led by NCAA Division I senior lineman Logan Anthony, enter the year looking to see who will claim the quarterback role after Jameson Trainer graduated. Jim Thorpe, led by Lazorick, were in need of new players to fill in the shoes of graduating wide receivers Justin Yescavage and Aaron Curran.

After getting an early defensive stop, JT found an early possibility for new receivers. On a third-down play, Lazorick connected with Anthony Kiehl for a 46-yard touchdown reception to open the scoring at 5:39 of the first and also set a personal milestone with 4,000 career passing yards.

“I’ll definitely tell you now, it means something very special,” Lazorick said about this achievement. “Growing up as a kid just playing around the backyard, I would throw the ball to myself and I really wanted to just be a quarterback here at Jim Thorpe.”

Palmerton would not be fazed as it possessed the ball for the remainder of the first frame, driving it down to the 1-yard line. The Bombers tied the score at 7-7 on the first play of the second (10th of the drive) when lineman Wyatt Gable recovered a fumble in the end zone.

Hard work and a scrappy effort from the home team paid off as they forced a fumble on Jim Thorpe’s next possession and capped off their following drive in six plays with Caleb Sagastume scoring from the one to take a 14-7 advantage with 6:34 left until halftime.

TJ Weller showed promise for the Palmerton at quarterback as he went 7-for-7 in the first half. He ended the night 9-for-12 with 99 passing yards.

After getting another defensive stop, it appeared the Bombers were going to take a lead into halftime.

However, Jim Thorpe counter punched with Kaden Hess forcing a fumble at the Palmerton 13-yard line. Lazorick scored on the next play on a 13-yard dash to tie the score 14-14 going into the break.

“I think tonight the biggest takeaway is not turning the ball over,” said Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak. “Turnovers were definitely our Achilles heel for us and giving them short fields right before the half. The bottom line is mental mistakes, especially turnovers, are going to hurt early on or anytime in the season.”

Unfortunately for the Bombers, turnovers would continue to plague them in the second half.

After stopping the Olympians on their first drive of the half, Thorpe took advantage of Palmerton fumbling a punt return, recovering the ball at the Bomber 4-yard line.

Three plays later, Josh Louk ran into the end zone from two yards out to give Jim Thorpe its first lead of the game.

With the Bombers looking for offense, they elected to go with TK Gursky at quarterback to change their offensive approach.

The Olympians were not fooled as a quick turnover on downs allowed Lazorick to go back to work.

Three plays later, he found freshman Bobby Levins for a 63-yard touchdown pass to put Jim Thorpe up by two scores.

For the remainder of the game, the defense shut the door for the Olympians.

Thorpe forced Palmerton to turn the ball over on downs twice more, and Hess stepped up on another Bomber drive with an interception at his own 4-yard line, which enabled the visitors to secure the victory.

Lazorick finished the night going 15-for-20 with 239 passing yards and two TDs, along with 60 rushing yards on 18 carries and a score. Louk also stood out with 30 rushing yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, and 66 receiving yards on eight catches.

Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger was grateful to see how much depth his team has to begin the year, but also understands the importance of maintaining strong play throughout the season.

“I’m extremely proud of our kids,” said Rosenberger. “We don’t have a lot of numbers, but the kids that we have here work hard and overcame some adversity today. The next kid got in and made plays for us, and that’s what we try to do as the next man up.

“I think we really put an emphasis on defense, and I thought we did some nice things defensively today. Pitching a shutout in the second half was huge for us, but right now we’re just focused on continuing to work and get better defensively for next week.”

THE WEEK AHEAD … For Week 2, Jim Thorpe will face Pottsville in its home opener on Friday night, while Palmerton will travel to Pen Argyl for a Saturday matinee matchup.

Jim Thorpe 28, Palmerton 14

Jim Thorpe 7     7   7   7   –   28

Palmerton 0   14   0   0   –   14

JT – A. Kiehl 46 yard pass from Lazorick (Flyzik kick)

P – Gable fumble recovery in end zone (Anthony kick)

P – Sagastume 2 yard run (Anthony kick)

JT – Lazorick 13 yard run (Flyzik kick)

JT – Louk 2 yard run (Flyzik kick)

JT – Levins 63 yard pass from Lazorick (Flyzick kick)