After Whitehall took the lead early against Easton during their home opener Friday night, it appeared that they could trade punches with the Red Rovers.

But Easton’s jabs were augmented by the legs of Harold Reynolds who rushed for 186 yards, scoring three touchdowns. But it was his arm that delivered the knockout blow as he took the handoff on their first play from scrimmage in the second half, and rolling to his right, tossed a 76-yard touchdown pass to Mike Dunlap to put them up 27-14.

That play signaled the Rovers rise in the second half as they took control the rest of the way for the 55-21 victory.

The loss drops the Zephyrs to 0-2 on the season.

It was the second game in which they allowed over 200 rushing yards. Head coach Justin Kondikoff said that it all boils down to better tackling. Reynolds was able to work his magic in tight spaces as he was continually broke tackles to get 155 of his yards in the first half.

“The number one thing is we have to tackle,” said Kondikoff. “We have to do everything we can to get better at tackling.”

The Zephyrs performance, especially early in the game, showed Kondikoff that they were moving in the right direction.

“Our team is making steps,” said Kondikoff. “We took a step today, not enough steps, but we certainly have taken steps.

“We eliminated a lot of the mistakes that I had been talking about, but we haven’t eliminated all of them, and we’re going to work this week to get rid of all those mistakes.”

Whitehall fell behind early as the Red Rovers scored on their first possession. But a fumble recovery by Justin Santiago gave the Zephs good field position which turned into six points as Anthony Nanoah found Allen Negrete on a seam route that covered 40 yards for the tying score.

Easton’s missed extra point opened the door for the Zephs to take the lead in the second quarter as Easton penalties helped sustain a 10-play drive that was capped with Joe Herman reaching high to haul in a pass down the near sideline for the 33-yard score.

Despite Easton winning the time of possession battle, as well as most of the offensive stat categories, Whitehall showcased its big-play capability to stay in the game. Each of its three scores covered more than 30 yards.

“This team is full of playmakers,” said Kondikoff. “We just haven’t put together everything, and once we do that, we’re going to be a dangerous team.”

One of those players was Mekhi Lee. Lee was all over the field on Friday night, making plays on defense, offense, and special teams. Lee showcased what he could do once he got the ball in his hands late in the third quarter as he caught a pass over the middle, quickly pivoted, and raced about 30 yards for the score. His TD run cut the Rovers lead to 21-34, but in a cruel twist of fate, that would be all the scoring for the Zephyrs and for Lee the rest of the season.

Lee sustained a leg injury midway through the fourth quarter and left the field on a stretcher, an air cast protecting his leg.

With the Zephyrs trailing by just a score coming out of the break, Reynolds tumbling TD toss to stake the Rovers to a 13-point lead turned the momentum clearly in the visitor’s favor once the second half got underway.

“We have to respond to that, that’s a killer,” said Kondikoff.

It happened last week as well as they fell victim to a big touchdown play on their first defensive series of the game. Kondikoff said that they can’t let it happen anymore.

The Zephyrs got good quarterback play from Nanoah who finished the game 10-16 for 158 yards and three touchdowns. He completed passes to five different receivers with Negrete leading the way with six catches for 69 yards.

Running back Ali Barkley had a difficult time finding running room against a stout Easton front. He finished the game with 31 yards on 17 carries.

In the beginning of the season, Kondikoff talked about overcoming hardships, and Lee’s loss, another substantial blow to their football team, will certainly test their resolve. But Kondikoff said a true measure of a team is how it responds to adversity, which covers not only football, but life.

The Zephyrs travel to Emmaus this week to play the undefeated Green Hornets.