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Arguably, the biggest concern for most coaches coming into the start of the high school football season are those little mistakes that can lead into issues that can cost a team in the end.
On Friday night, Whitehall faced costly penalties and a staunch defense, whose bend but don’t break mentality was showcased at EPSD Stadium. The Whitehall Zephyrs could not overcome these factors in a disappointing 38-14 defeat to Emmaus in an early season EPC South Showdown.
After Carson Landis opened up the scoring for the Green Hornets on a 37-yard field goal, the Zephyrs got two touchdowns in the opening quarter. The first on a 37 yard jaunt by Tavion George. The second, after a 76-yard run by Dez Boykins set Whitehall up inside the Emmaus 10.
“We knew going in it was going to be a dogfight. We got smacked around early, I wanted to see what our response would be,” said Emmaus first year coach Harold Fairclough. “Our seniors stepped up and carried us through the rest of the contest.”
Emmaus quarterback, Derek Shaffer fired two second quarter scores to Joshua Artis. The first one an 11-yard completion, the second went for three yards, giving the Green Hornets a 17-14 lead at intermission.
The second half opened with Emmaus’ Luben Meyers taking the kickoff back 66 yards to set up shop at the Whitehall 28. Sophomore running back Sone Ntoh capped the drive with a 7-yard run to make the score 24-14 which lasted going into the final quarter.
Schaeffer, who completed 15-17 passes on the night connected with Drew Schwindenhammer for seven yards with just over seven minutes left in the game and a 31-14 advantage. Ntoh completed the last score of the night on a three-yard run nearing the five minute Mark.
“They (Emmaus) outplayed us at every aspect of the game. Of course, I need to look at the film, but they did a great job on us after we went up 14-3,” a disappointed Whitehall coach Brian Gilbert stated.
Whitehall was held to 93 yards after gaining nearly 170 on first few drives on the night. The Zephyrs (1-1) will be home with Nazareth on Friday. While Emmaus (2-0) will be at Bethlehem Catholic.
