Football is a game where tight bonds are formed, a game where every player is looking to win at the point of attack, and those shared battles draw players close to one another as they sweat and toil in the quest for victory.

Senior Chad Hussett knows about those battles and those bonds. He took the field last Friday wearing the jersey of teammate Mekhi Lee who was lost for the season after suffering an injury against Easton the prior week. He decided to honor his sidelined friend by keeping his spirit alive on the gridiron where they shared so many of those battles.

“I made a decision to wear my best friend’s, my brother’s number, because he unfortunately tore his ACL, his MCL, and his PCL,” said Hussett. “He’s out here tonight with me so it was an honor for me to wear his number.”

Lee was emerging as an important piece for the Zephyrs in all phases of the game. The senior registered 10 tackles against Easton, and also scored a touchdown before suffering that season-ending injury. His presence was felt everywhere he lined up.

His loss, like that of Joshua Novak in their preseason scrimmage, dealt the team a big blow. Lee said that it was a noncontact injury, but it was precipitated by him stepping on a defender’s cleat which caused his knee to give out. He said he flipped in the air, and when he landed he saw that his knee was out of place.

Lee, who’s also an outstanding track and field athlete, is determined to remain positive.

“Things happen, and I believe everything happens for a reason,” said Lee. “But it hurt because I love this team. I enjoy going to battle with them every single game.

“It hurt that I couldn’t be out here tonight, but my best friend, Shavar Hussett, wore my number in honor, and some guys wrote my name and number on their wrists as a tribute, and that just goes to show the love we have for one another.”

Hussett played an inspired game. He rushed for 78 yards in the first half, bursting for a 34-yard touchdown run for the Zephyrs first score. That cut Emmaus’ lead to 13-7, and was the beginning of Whitehall’s offensive surge that put up two more scores before the end of the half.

Hussett said that they began slowly, but started to figure out what they needed to do offensively.

“Everyone got it together and picked it up,” said Hussett who finished the game with 80 yards rushing. “We kept it moving and the energy was up.”

That energy gave Whitehall the statistical edge in most of the offensive categories before the half. They got a 13-yard TD run form quarterback Anthony Nanoah, as well as a 1-yard dive from Hussett for a score to trial by just six at the break. Erase that pick six by Carlton Lovett that put Emmaus on the board at the start of the game, and Whitehall was asserting itself as the dominant team.

But they opened they opened the third quarter with a quick three-and-out deep in their own territory which was somewhat negated by the strong leg of punter Alex Khouri who placed that ball back on Emmaus’ half of the field. However, the Hornets strung together a drive that resulted in Timmy Higgins 19-yard touchdown reception that began a string of four unanswered scores that led to a 56-21 loss.

Hussett, who was coming off an ankle injury, said that they just need to come out in the second half and play fast. They’ve been outscored by 79-14 over three games in the second half. Once they match the energy level they’ve shown over the first 24 minutes, he said they’ll be good.

Friday’s loss leaves the Zephs still searching for their first victory as they host Allentown Central Catholic this week.

Former Whitehall quarterback Ethan Parvel knew last Friday’s game would be packed with emotion since he too battled with many of those players who were now on the opposite side of the scrimmage line. He had played eleven years with many of those guys and had formed strong bonds with them throughout his football career.

“Obviously there’s a lot of emotion because I still know and talk to a lot of those guys, and a lot of good friends I have on that team,” said Parvel who finished the game with 98 yards passing, including two scores. “Emotions are like a roller coaster, up and down, up and down, and coming into this game I knew it was going to be hard to play, but I trusted my teammates and my teammates helped me through it.”

The new Green Hornet signal caller said that his senior year has been kind of crazy, but his new teammates made him feel really comfortable, and now they’re a team and he loves it.

Whitehall is getting good play from their new quarterback. Nanoah threw for 65 yards and rushed for 50, adding that TD on nice keeper to the left corner of the end zone for the score.

Allen Negrete also played a good game, adding a circus catch to his highlight reel when he performed his own tip drill in hauling in a pass. That kept their drive alive which resulted in Hussett’s first TD. He also completed a 25-yard pass to Joe Herman. He finished the game with four catches for 51 yards.