Northern Lehigh Edges Palisades 29-28 In An Overtime Classic (VIDEO RECAP)
Tagged under: District 11, Game Photos-Videos, Gameday Hub, News, pfn, Playoffs
Davin Ridall | November 2, 2025
SLATINGTON – Towards the end of the third quarter down by seven points, Northern Lehigh quarterback Garrett Smoyer had the ball knocked out of his hands and recovered by Palisades’ defensive end Silias Slay. That fumble halted what looked like what might be a possible game tying drive in the crucial stages of the game, but instead left the Pirates with all the momentum. “I didn’t really have to tell him [Smoyer] much. He’s kind of like that, he’s not cocky about it but he moves on to the next play,” coach Joe Tout said when asked about Smoyer’s second fumble of the game. That fumble ultimately did not prove to be costly, as just a few minutes later Smoyer led a beautifully executed 71 yard drive to tie the game late and gave Northern Lehigh the chance to win this Saturday night classic in overtime 29-28.
Early on in this game, Palisades seemingly had all the momentum, going right down the field and scoring on a 51 yard touchdown run from Lincoln Cook, as well as holding Northern Lehigh to a three and out on their opening drive. That Pirates’ defense held strong the rest of the quarter, keeping the Bulldogs off the scoreboard entirely through the first frame and soon after, the Pirates doubled their lead to 14-0 with a 34 yard strike from Jack Trickel to Lincoln Cook for his second score of the night.
“We just battled, You just try to stay focused and try to get a little momentum,” is what Tout said about the early 14-0 deficit that the Bulldogs faced. And like Tout said, the Bulldogs did find a little momentum in the later stages of that first half. A six yard strike to Chris Vargas brought the Bulldogs back within a score halfway through the second, and later in that same quarter, Colin Karetsky came up with a jump ball interception giving the Bulldogs possession near midfield with just over a minute left until halftime. Just three plays later, following two beautifully placed passes by Smoyer, Mason Rothrick took the handoff 16 yards into the end zone, tying up the score at 14 a piece heading into the halftime break.
Palisades was the team the break to the deadlock in the third with a long breakaway from quarterback Jack Trickel, giving the Pirates a 21-14 advantage with four minutes left in the third quarter. Up until that point in the third quarter, the defenses were in control, as both teams had been exchanging three and outs, and punts.
In the midst of a strong drive by the Bulldogs as the third quarter was winding down, Garrett Smoyer took the ball and ran up the gut on a quarterback draw, but had the ball stripped out of his hands, ending the eight play drive at Palisades’ 40 yard line right before the third quarter came to an end.
“We were fighting from behind, you know I just got to play to the best of my ability and I got to trust my teammates to do the exact same thing, and that’s exactly what happened,” is what Ryan Zambo said when asked about his thoughts being down 21-14 entering the fourth quarter. One of the biggest plays of that quarter was a fourth down stop at their own 30 yard line after Jack Trickel’s pass to Tobey Witt fell incomplete. 12 plays and 70 whole yards later, Smoyer executed a quarterback sneak on third and goal to perfection, tying our score up at 21 with just over three and a half minutes to go in regulation.
Northern Lehigh did have an opportunity near the end of regulation to win the game, making it to Palisades’ 37 yard line before Smoyer threw a jump ball down the sideline that was picked off by Jack Trickel with just seven seconds left, ultimately sending this game to overtime.
Trickel was the one to strike first in overtime, taking it in himself from ten yards out on the first play and putting the Pirates ahead 28-21. Northern Lehigh now had control of their own destiny, and looked to be in trouble after the first play from scrimmage resulted in a loss of a yard. A holding penalty on the ensuing incomplete pass set the Bulldogs up at the five yard line for the upcoming second down play, where Smoyer was able to run it straight into the end zone bringing the Bulldogs back within one and leaving coach Tout with a decision to make.
“I told our guys as soon as we went over, if we have the chance we’re going [for two], I had that in my head at least that’s what I told two of our coaches.” Coach Tott, a big Eagles fan himself decided to do a little callback to the ol’ “Philly Special” that was a key play in the Eagles’ Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots back in 2017. Smoyer took the snap and immediately flipped it to Grady Newhard who then flipped it to Colin Karetsky on a reverse back the other way. Garrett Smoyer, who was the initial option on the play design, was covered, forcing Karetsky to throw it back over the middle to Ryan Zambo, who was able to come down with the football just across the goal line.
“I played quarterback my freshman year, I was horrible, I had more rushing touchdowns than passing completions,” Karetsky said when asked about his background as a quarterback. “Coach Tott saw something in me, because he’s got to be insane to let me throw, but he did today.” All coach Tott had to say was “Philly Philly” to his guys when they asked what play to run, “Oh I was excited, yeah we just called it Philly Philly and I knew it was gonna be one of those moments you don’t forget for a while.”
Northern Lehigh will advance to the District 11 Class 2A semifinal next week to face undefeated Schuylkill Haven on the road.
<iframe title=”YouTube video player” src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/cHH7AXDbkzI?si=ZX-t2DBpusatE4cU” width=”560″ height=”315″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=”allowfullscreen”></iframe>
Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews
