PALMER — Down 22-19 in the final minutes of regulation, Palmer head coach Rod Christiansen had a question for his players.

“I said, you guys what to go for this, for victory, or turn tail and run,” Christiansen said.

Palmer didn’t run.

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Instead, the Moose threw themselves into a celebration.

Senior quarterback Dustin Silva found junior flanker Jim McCall in the middle of the end zone with 12 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and the Moose scored a 25-22 come-from-behind nonconference win over the Dimond Lynx at Machetanz Field on Saturday.

A raucous Palmer crowd erupted as McCall snagged the touchdown grab, his second in the final four minutes of the game, and after the Moose Gooser’s cannon blast signaled the end of regulation, the Palmer squad sprinted off the field singing the school’s fight song while celebrating the victory in their 2009 season-opener.

“It’s the best feeling in the world,” McCall said. “Just the energy from the crowd, everything. It pumps you up. This is what the team lives for.”

With the Moose trailing 22-12 late in the fourth, Silva and McCall put Palmer within reach of the Lynx when the duo hooked up for a 25-yard score with 4:01 left. Facing 2nd-and-long, McCall beat a Dimond defensive back, and made the catch at the goal line for the score.

“He’s a great receiver, one of the fastest guys on our team,” Silva said of his top target. “We try to spread the ball around, but he’s a tremendous athlete.”

After McCall’s first score, Palmer elected to try the onside kick and Palmer sophomore Douglas Chadwick recovered to give the Moose another shut.

The Dimond defense was able to hold, and got the ball back on its own 30-yard-line. With two minutes left, and the Lynx appearing to be running out the clock,  Palmer got yet another chance to get back into the game when senior Evan Parsons recovered a Dimond fumbled at the Moose 41-yard-line.

From there, Palmer put together a dramatic eight-play drive to win it. After a short loss and a pair of Silva incompletions, McCall gave the Moose life with a 15-yard catch, on fourth down with 41 seconds to play.

With about 30 seconds left, senior Brennan Bohman hauled in a 32-yard Silva pass to move the Moose within the red zone. Two plays later, McCall put the Moose ahead.

“It’s kind of the Palmer kids’ attitude,” Christiansen said. “They never give up.”

Senior fullback Coleman Ahrens, who finished with 83 yards on 19 carries, gave the Moose the early lead when he rumbled in for the first of his two scores. On 4th-and-2 late in the first, Ahrens pushed through the center of the Lynx defensive line for a 5-yard score.

Early in the third, Ahrens used a 2-yard run to tie the score at 12-12.

While the Silva-McCall connection helped win the game for Palmer, Dimond had its own potent duo. Quarterback Ahmad Nasir tossed a pair of touchdowns to Steven Lopez in the first half to lead the Lynx to the 12-6 halftime lead.

The pair tied the score at 6-6 midway through the second with a 59-yard passing play, and Lopez made a catch and shot through the center of the field for 29 yards late in the second quarter.

Dimond kicker Kyle Dodson broke the 12-12 tie early in the fourth with a 30-yard field goal, and Nasir gave the Lynx the 10-point advantage with an 8-yard scoring run later in the fourth.

Dimond took advantage of two Palmer fumbles in the second half and a couple of uncharacteristic 15-yard penalties to push its lead to 10 points. But despite the mistakes, the Moose kept themselves in the game.

“That’s Palmer Moose football,” McCall said. “Fight to the end.”

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Palmer 25, Dimond 22

Friday, Machetanz Field

First quarter

Palmer — Ahrens 5 run (kick failed) 1:22.

Second quarter

Dimond — Lopez 59 pass from Nasir (kick failed) 6:09.

Dimond — Lopez 29 pass from Nasir (kick failed) 1:14.

Third quarter

Palmer — Ahrens 2 run (kick failed) 7:11.

Fourth quarter

Dimond — Dodson 30 field goal, 8:27.

Dimond — Nasir 8 run (Dodson kick) 5:25.

Palmer — McCall 25 pass from Silva (Bohman kick) 4:01.

Palmer — McCall 14 pass from Silva (kick failed) 00:12.

Individual statistics

RUSHING — Dimond: Nasir 14-75, Romo 6-12, Scanlan 5-(-3); Palmer: Ahrens 19-83, Bohman 18-88, Scoresby 7-21, McCall 5-36, Silva 5-14, Sorensen 2-0.

PASSING — Dimond: Nasir 9-17-0—165; Palmer: Silva 5-16-0—88, Bohman 1-2-1—39.

RECEIVING — Dimond: Lopez 3-104, Dodson 2-22, Afusia 2-21, McCloskey 2-18; Palmer: McCall 4-93, Bohman 1-32, Daniels 1-2.