A Week Two win was of equal importance to Whitehall and Liberty, having lost their season openers, but the Zephyrs prevailed, 33-22, in a game that appeared to be going Liberty’s way.

“For us, it was real big, coming off of last week and the mistakes we made last week, to come out here and get this win, especially coming back the way we did and fighting through some adversity,” said Whitehall head coach Matt Senneca. “I think it was huge and a huge confidence booster for us.”

Liberty scored early in the first quarter on Hurricane quarterback Tommy Mason’s 42-yard pass to a wide open Nico Sciarra. A bad snap negated the extra-point attempt, but the Hurricanes scored on a safety after Mason’s punt to the two-yard line.

With time winding down in the second quarter, Whitehall’s Kayden Davis-Latsch intercepted a pass by Mason, and the Zephyrs took over at the 50-yard line.

Whitehall quarterback Trey Dogmanits, who threw for 200 yards on Friday night, ran the ball nine yards, connected on a pass to Braden Bashore, and Nigel Linton went in for the touchdown with 15 seconds left until halftime. The Zephyrs’ two-point conversion was no good.

Liberty senior Jayden Rosado with 114 rushing yards hauled in consecutive touchdowns in the third quarter, the second on a 35-yard run, and the Hurricanes had their biggest lead, 22-6.

But Dogmanits completed a 57-yard pass to Jack Kocher who was pulled down at the 15-yard line by Sciarra, and Bashore was left open for the Zephyr touchdown.

Then, Aiden Parvel’s interception led to Linton’s second touchdown of the night.

“We talked all week about having each others’ backs, and I’ll tell you what, they really showed it in the second half,” said Coach Senneca. “We clawed back as a team. Great credit to our defensive coordinator Kyle Beller, shutting them out the way he did in the second half. It was a great job.”

Carter Troxell led the Zephyrs in tackles with 15, and Mason Marencik-Delvalle had seven tackles, two for lost yardage.

With eight minutes left in the game, Whitehall took its first lead on Dogmanits’ 29-yard pass to Kocher in the corner of the end zone.

“Jack’s a grinder,” said Senneca. “He’s gonna play both ways, he’s gonna play special teams, he’s not gonna come off the field, he’s not gonna complain, and he’s gonna give you everything he’s got.”

Linton’s 45-yard run with 6:32 remaining was the final touchdown of the night.

“Oh, we set the tone now. Now it’s our turn to turn the whole season around and get that championship,” Linton said. “I saw the cutback and took the chance to make everything I could out of it. I saw the green and went for it. I’m so happy that everyone found the dog in them, found their passion, the love for the game, and came together to finish this game today.”