The Whitehall Zephyrs scored 36 points in the first quarter of their football season opener against William Allen, well on their way to a 53-0 rout of the Canaries on Aug. 25 at Whitehall.

“It feels great to be back,” said Whitehall running back Dalton Wickel. “We had a good year last year, won district championships and went on a state run, and it’s a good way to start the year off with a big win.”

The Zephyrs put up 14 points in the first 47 seconds.

Jack Kocher returned the Canaries’ opening kickoff for a 74-yard touchdown, and Carter Troxell recovered an Allen fumble for a 17-yard touchdown.

Andrew Deutsch kicked the extra points for the Zephyrs.

With 8:51 on the first quarter clock, Trey Dogmanits’ 43-yard pass to Kocher was Whitehall’s third touchdown, and at 5:15, Alyx Swakcerd took the ball into the end zone for six more points.

A bad snap scratched Deutsch’s extra point attempt, but Talon Dogmanits ran the ball in for the two-point conversion.

“The snap was a little low and I couldn’t quite put it down, so, we call it fire, and two people go out for a pass, but I didn’t see them, so I had to do what I could to get the two points,” Dogmanits said. “There were a bunch of guys running after me, and I wasn’t making it if I would’ve kept going the way I was going, so I turned back around and went the other way.”

Allen responded with increased pressure when Jamier Thomas broke up a pass attempt, followed by Elijah Watkins’ interception in the end zone.

Whitehall closed out the quarter with Justus Miles’ fumble recovery and the team’s fifth touchdown.

“We capitalized on some big plays, and we created turnovers,” said Whitehall first-year head coach Andy Marino.

Early in the second quarter, Wickel ran four yards for a Zephyr touchdown.

“My first one of the year. I was hype for it,” Wickel said. “I can’t wait to get many more.”

Kocher was on his way to his third touchdown of the night but was tackled by Davoney Hall as he clawed to get to the end zone. Then, from two yards out, Wickel scored his second touchdown, putting the Zephyrs ahead, 50-0.

“We have a whole new team, whole new coach coaching staff, and Coach Marino, great coach, he really changed our whole game style. We have a bunch of new plays and formations, and I think we came out and showed what we can do this year,” Wickel said. “I thought we had a great preseason. Doubles, great doubles, pushed hard, worked hard. Doubles are really hard, but we pushed through. We showed it right here today.”

Allen quarterback Yandel Matos completed three passes, the second on fourth-and-6, and the Canaries threatened in Whitehall territory, but a sack by Whitehall’s Nathan Huffort, followed by Miles’ forced fumble silenced the Canaries.

The Zephyrs spent halftime reviewing the first half and preparing their backups for playing time.

“We had two penalties, we had bad snaps, and we needed to clean those things up and play them one play at a time,” said Coach Marino. “The second half wasn’t great. We played sloppy, but there were some young guys who played hard, which is all we asked of them.”

Whitehall sophomore Justin Hussett intercepted a pass in the third quarter for the Zephyrs, and sophomore Cole Richards scored Whitehall’s final points of the night on a 22-yard field goal.

It was Coach Andy Marino’s first victory as head football coach of

The Zephyrs will travel to Bethlehem Catholic on Sept. 2 for their second contest of the season.