The Parkland High School football team suffered its first loss of the season last Saturday night at the hands of Central Catholic, 14-7, in an Eastern Pennsylvania Conference South Division game. It was one of the lowest scoring games in recent years for the Trojans (3-1 overall, 3-1 EPC), who had three turnovers and two missed field goals, as the Vikings (4-1, 3-1) took over the top spot of the division.

The Trojan coaching staff is hoping to see the team take its first loss and want to move forward. And they will have to quickly due to playing on a shorter week, as Parkland will host Whitehall (3-1, 3-1) on Friday night at Parkland School District Stadium.

“We are looking to see the guys bounce back with focus and intensity in every practice period this week,” said assistant coach Mike Facchiano. “It all starts there. If they are attentive and practicing well, we know that they’ll be ready for a short week on Friday.”

Just like with the Trojans in their opener, the Zephyrs had a game canceled due to COVID protocols. Their scheduled game with Easton last weekend did not happen, and the two teams enter Friday with identical records and four games played. Whitehall won its first three games of the season over Pocono Mountain West, Bethlehem Catholic and Liberty, and dropped its latest game to Emmaus two weeks ago.

“Whitehall is ranked in the state in 5A for a reason,” Facchiano said. “They have a talented and experienced quarterback with [Quinn] Wentling, who gets the ball out quickly to a good group of skill players via the run-pass-option. They also have the ability to run the ball effectively. Defensively, they are athletic and have good size. They’re a great team this year.”

After a strong defensive showing against the Vikings last weekend, allowing just one offensive touchdown for seven points, Parkland will look to get its offense going again this weekend.