Winless Pen Argyl had nothing to lose Saturday afternoon. Salisbury was looking to win its second straight game of the season.

The Falcons jumped on top early and never let momentum swing too far.

The Falcons took some blows from the Knights, but they kept standing and kept punching back to hold on for a 28-26 win on Pen Argyl’s homecoming day.

The win was Salisbury’s second straight victory after an 0-5 start.

“We didn’t have a great start to our season,” said senior lineman Anthony Scarcia. “Our senior season is not what we were looking for. But these last two weeks we’ve really found something in ourselves and we’re starting to click.

“We work to get one percent better every day. We had faith in our program and kept grinding. It feels amazing [to win two in a row].”

Scarcia helped set the tone for the defense early. He and teammate Jacob Gibbons stuffed Pen Argyl for no gain on its first two plays of the game and forced a quick three and out that led to a 7-0 lead.

The Knights tried to punt but the snap got past their punter and Chase Fenstermaker recovered the ball in the end zone for a 7-0 lead just 95 seconds into the game.

Salisbury’s defense got another stop and the Falcon offense drove to its own 15-yard line before a missed field goal ended the possession.

Pen Argyl took over at the 20-yard line and drove 80 yards in 15 plays. Gian Greggo scored from two-yards out to get his team within 7-6 after a missed extra point.

Several times during the possession the Falcon defense put the Knights’ backs to the wall, but Pen Argyl converted two fourth downs on the drive and scored it’s touchdown on a fourth and goal.

The Falcons, as they would do all afternoon, responded.

Salisbury started its next possession at the Knight’s 35 and chewed up almost five minutes from the clock before George Spann ran in from seven yards out to put his team ahead 14-6 with 3:38 left in the first half.

“We knew what we had to do,” said Scarcia. “We knew we had to bounce back. We didn’t let the momentum shift. We kept it in our hands most of the game. We were on offense twice as much as they were.”

Two minutes later Spann recovered a Pen Argyl fumble to get his team the ball back late in the second quarter. That drive was ended by the halftime horn and when the Falcons fumbled on their first play of the second half, the Knights again had a chance to grab the momentum, but only briefly.

Pen Argyl hit for a 57-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-and-7. Damian Tyminski caught the pass from Cole Dershimer to close the gap to 14-12.

Salisbury answered with a five-play drive that was capped by quarterback Nick Beck’s 47-yard touchdown run that extended the lead to 21-2 with 7:35 left in the third quarter.

The Knights wouldn’t go away. A 41-yard touchdown pass from Dorshimer to Tyminski made the score 21-18 with over five minutes remaining in the third quarter.

The Falcons made it a 28-18 lead when Bucchin ran 14 yards for a score early in the fourth quarter. The Knights countered with a touchdown drive of their own and a two-point conversion to get within two points with 6:01 left in the game.

Pen Argyl’s defense got a stop and the Knights had the ball with 4:20 left to play and a chance to take the lead. But Fenstermaker came up with an interception, and the Falcon offense picked up a couple first downs to allow the clock to expire without the Knights touching the ball again.

“Defense clicked in the first quarter really good,” said Fenstermaker. “They made some good passes. I got beat on some, but we didn’t put our heads down. We kept playing. We even got the pick at the end to seal the deal.

“We started off (the season) bad, didn’t win any games, but getting these wins feels amazing.”

Salisbury beat Palisades for its first win then followed it with a victory at Pen Argyl.

“We were a good football team in the beginning,” said Salisbury head coach Andy Cerco. “We’re still a good football team. There’s a fine line between winning and losing games.

“We have been working on our focus in meetings and at practice in the weight room and pregame. That’s been our improvement. It’s the little things that matter.”

This Friday Salisbury travels to Ashland to take on the No. 1 ranked Class 3A team in the state. North Schuylkill (7-0) is not only unbeaten, it’s beaten some of the Colonial League’s top teams in Northern Lehigh and Norte Dame (Green Pond), as well as perennial state contender Mt. Carmel.

The Spartans run a hurry-up offense from start to finish and wear down opponents. They will certainly be looked at as favorites to win on their home field, but the Falcons are hoping to surprise.

“We think it’s a tough opponent but we’re going to play as hard as we can and see if we can get the win,” said Fenstermaker.

Cerco is eager to take his team to Schuylkill County for a game against one of the coal region’s traditional powers.

“It’s going to be great environment,” he said. “This is Pennsylvania high school football. This is what makes Pennsylvania high school football great.”