The Whitehall Zephyrs struck once and early in their 27-7 loss to Parkland on Friday night at Parkland.

Just three minutes into the first quarter, Whitehall quarterback Nick Kaintz tossed a short pass to Damonte Foreman who sprinted to the pylon, putting the Zephyrs on the scoreboard first.

The Trojans then scored twice in the second quarter to take a 14-7 halftime lead.

Dahlir Adams’ 10-yard touchdown run tied the game, and quarterback Luke Spang’s pass to Jack Harrison in the end zone with 1:49 left put the Trojans ahead.

“We just had to keep fighting,” said Whitehall head coach Matt Senneca. “They were running the ball on us a little bit. We had to stand up on defense. We got pushed around a little bit in the second half, but I thought we stood up pretty well. We fought. I was happy with the way our kids played. We just came out on the short end tonight.”

Whitehall was without Quinn Wentling at quarterback for most of the night while Kaintz had 114 passing yards.

“It was something we had to do game plan-wise tonight, so we’re gonna go back and see what we need to do next week,” Coach Senneca said.

The Trojans saw that something was off before kickoff.

“We noticed that, pregame, their number three (Wentling) didn’t throw a single pass, so when he was in, it kind of made it easier for us because we knew he couldn’t throw the ball,” said Adams, who rushed for 165 yards on 37 carries.

Also missing for Whitehall was junior running back Nigel Linton, who was injured early in the first quarter.

Adams’ scored his second touchdown of the night on a three-yard carry in the third quarter.

The Trojans ended the night with an interception at Whitehall’s 46-yard line that resulted in a touchdown for Parkland when Spang floated the ball to Harrison in the end zone.

“It’s like a rivalry game to us,” said Adams. “We came out here, played as hard as we can, and put a body on body. We started off slow, and once they scored, we knew we had to turn it up a notch, lock in, and play Parkland football.”

After the game, Coach Senneca told his players to get ready to defend their house on Friday. That’s when the Zephyrs are scheduled to host Freedom.