Northwestern wrestling head coach Jim Moll found himself focusing on the unknown heading into his team’s Colonial League opener on Tuesday.

The Tigers provided their head coach with some clarity.

A convincing 47-21 victory over Palmerton gave Moll and Northwestern a glimpse into what the team is capable of.

“I was nervous,” said Moll. “It’s the first dual meet. You don’t what you have. They (Palmerton) didn’t wrestle at all over the weekend, so we had no idea what they had. We didn’t know what to expect until we got to weigh-ins and saw what the matchups looked like. But even then, there were a lot of toss up matches that we just happened to win.”

The Tigers ripped off six wins in seven bouts – including four pins – to take control of the match.

It was a run that started with a gritty 10-6 decision by Eli Dellicker at 120 pounds in a match that was tied 2-2 after the second period.

Dellicker’s victory was a snapshot of the evening for Northwestern, which prevailed despite giving up two forfeits.

“You just have to overcome that,” said Dellicker. “I think we work harder than just about any other team, and you just have to keep using that and fight through every match. I started down (in my match), but I just kept fighting and working my way back up.”

Jake Dellicker (126), Ben Griffith (132), Mason Brensinger (145) and Lucas Miller (152) each had pins before Harrison Bernhard (160) prevailed in sudden victory overtime to push the Tigers’ advantage to 30-12 after nine matches.

“Those pins and bonus points were huge in this match,” said Griffith. “They were the reason we won.”

“I just think it says a lot about the work we put in as a team, and it shows,” added Jake Dellicker. “I think the idea was people count us out because we have small numbers so we have to make up for a few six-point forfeits and it just gives us a little motivation to go out and work a little harder for some bonus points.”

Northwestern’s Ryan Haverkamp (195) won by technical fall, and Isaiah Johri (220) had a pin to add to the team’s haul.

“I just feel like when you see one guy go out there and wrestle as hard as he can and work hard, it motivates everyone else to push it a little more and work that much harder to get an extra win,” Jake Dellicker said.

Dennis Lombardi (138) and Matt Garey-Hendricks (285) won by fall for the Bombers.

Northwestern’s youth wrestling program was recognized Tuesday, as the Little Tigers were accompanied to the center of the mat during introductions with one or more wrestlers from the high school program.