If the Parkland football team learned one thing about itself in Friday's opener with Delaware Valley it was that its new offense could put up points in a hurry.

Unfortunately for the Trojans, it took a little too long to figure out how to crack the Warrior defense.

The slow start doomed Parkland in a 37-35 loss in Milford.

"There's no question it hurt us, especially the turnovers," head coach Jim Morgans said. "We messed up a kickoff in the first quarter which hurt us, we had an illegal procedure which put us in a first-and-15 and then we didn't get that first down. We had three crucial turnovers inside the five yard line. Throughout the first half we were just crippled with those things. We put up good numbers, just didn't protect the ball."

The Trojans found themselves down 10-7 at halftime, managing only an Eli Redman touchdown run late in the second quarter.

In the third quarter, things got worse for Parkland. Four-year starter Brian Schor engineered an early scoring drive, using a 35-yard pass to Connor Decker to set up a short touchdown run by Martin Strenk.

Schor connected on a pair of touchdown passes later in the quarter, hitting Lucas Martowitz on a fly pattern to make it 24-7 and then finding Decker for a 47-yard score. That latter touchdown answered a touchdown run by Matt Costello and made it 31-14 Warriors after three.

"I never thought that we wouldn't be able to move the ball," said Morgans. "I have a lot of confidence in our kids, especially our skill players, and our offensive line is starting to gel. Sooner or later, momentum was going to change."

Trojan quarterback Tim Baranek scored on a slicing 33-yard touchdown run early in the fourth to cut the lead to 11 and then the Parkland got the spark it needed.

With Del Val's two-way lineman wearing down, Kareem Williams found a crack and ran 95 yards to paydirt. A two-point conversion pulled the visitors to within 31-28.

Morgans elected for an onside kick and the Trojans recovered. With momentum fully with the team, Jarel Elder capped a scoring drive with a one-yard touchdown run to give Parkland its first lead of the game at 35-31 with just 3:05 left.

"We had the momentum after that kick, no doubt about that," added Morgans. "I just said things have been going against us all night, and I told my special teams coordinator that we're going to try an onside kick here."

Schor and his teammates kept their poise though. The quarterback, who threw for 315 yards, hit Josh Hunt for a fourth down completion to cross into Trojan territory and keep the drive alive with under one minute to play.

A few plays laster, running back Joe Santiago took a short pass and scooted in from nine yards out to put the Warriors up 37-35 with just 24 seconds left.

Parkland had a chance in the closing moments, but Corey Savarese knocked a ball away in the end zone on one play and Baranek's final Hail Mary attempt was intercepted by Decker to end the game.

"Sure, it's possible we will see them again down the line in districts," Morgans said. "I'm counting on both of our teams to make the regional playoffs. But we're just thinking about Easton right now, and the tough schedule ahead."