The Whitehall Zephyrs took it to Allentown Central Catholic early and ended with a 37-6 victory over the Vikings last Friday night at Whitehall.

“We continue to get better each week. We kind of slid the past two weeks in what we were trying to do and how we play our brand of football, but tonight we definitely got back to Whitehall football,” said Zephyr coach Matt Senneca. “When our defense plays the way they can, that’s exactly what we’re gonna get out of them. They played perfect tonight.”

What the Zephyrs got from their defense was a fumble recovery by Joseph Hahn, a pick-6 by Carter Troxell, and a shutout for three quarters of play.

After taking a 14-0 lead in the first quarter with touchdowns by Mason Marencik-Delvalle and Nigel Linton, Hahn recovered a Viking fumble on Central’s 43-yard line.

“At first, I saw the guy go down, I saw it on the ground, and I dove on it. We were physical, and it helped today,” said Hahn. “We talked about it’s never over, they could come back, and it would be a brand new game, but I knew we were gonna win from halftime. I don’t think people expected very much of us, but we proved them wrong.”

Whitehall quarterback Trey Dogmanits completed a pass to Jack Kocher for a 20-yard gain, and Linton’s carry for 15 yards put the Zephyrs ahead 21-0 after Andrew Deutsch’s extra point. Linton ran for 60 yards on his first touchdown.

Central threatened late in the second quarter when Nasir Mclean intercepted Dogmanits’ pass intended for Kocher. But a long pass from Viking quarterback Tamlin Ferguson was bobbled, and Central remained scoreless in the first half.

“I think we were expecting more of a challenge, and that’s why we came out so hot. That’s why we were up 24-0 in the first half,” said Troxell. “I think we’ve come a long way. At first, we were just a group of guys, but now we’re a family.”

Troxell’s interception return for an 86-yard touchdown piled on more points for the Zephyrs

“I think it was right place at the right time,” Troxell said. “You know, (Kaden) Weaver made the tackle on the quarterback, and it landed in my hands and I ran. It didn’t really hit me that I got a pick-6 until two or three minutes after, when I was on the sideline.”

Linton scored his third and the Zephyrs’ final touchdown of the night at the end of the third quarter on a 14-yard carry.

Travis Foster scored the only Viking touchdown with 7:45 remaining in the game.

This week, Central hosts Pocono Mountain East on Thursday, and Whitehall hosts Nazareth on Friday.