Despite eight turnovers and nine penalties on Friday night against Palmerton, the Salisbury football team had two chances in the final minutes to either take the lead tie the contest.

Instead, the Falcons' mistakes eventually caught up to them, and their attempt at a comeback came up just short.

Turnovers on their two final drives resulted in six Blue Bomber points, and Palmerton held on for the 16-8 victory at Salisbury High School.

"We obviously turned the ball over way too much to win a game," head coach Andy Cerco said. "If we can't take care of the football, we can't put points up, and we're going to probably give up a whole lot more. It's so key, and we've just got to find a way to get better at that."

Down 10-8 with 1:39 to play, the Falcons started a drive at their own nine-yard line looking to take their first lead of the game. However, on the drive's third play, sophomore quarterback Tevon Weber was stripped in the end zone, and a Blue Bomber recovery put them ahead by six after a bad snap on the extra point.

Sophomore Alex Kubinec returned the ensuing kickoff to the Falcons' own 40-yard line, but another mistake cost Salisbury mightily. Stationed at midfield in the game's final seconds, Weber's pass was intercepted by Palmerton's Dominic Shivone, and the Blue Bombers ran out the remaining ticks.

"I think there were times that we did move the ball pretty well," Cerco said. "There were certain series where we were moving the ball, moving the ball, moving the ball, and one thing happened and it was the end of the drive.

"It seems to be happening every game for us. We just have to become more consistent and eliminate those mistakes, and things will change at that point."

The Falcons were held scoreless until the midway point of the fourth quarter. Weber found sophomore running back Teddy Denver down the sidelines for a 93-yard touchdown pass, and a Falcon two-point conversion got them to within two.

Despite stopping the Blue Bombers on a fourth-down attempt on the Salisbury nine-yard line, the Falcons were unable to take advantage.

Weber completed 16 of 33 passes for 273 yards and one touchdown. He also had four interceptions. Denver had 172 total yards (116 receiving and 56 rushing), and Tavon Royster had six catches for 83 yards.

The Falcons will travel to Catasauqua on Friday to take on last season's Colonial League champs. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.