The Whitehall Zephyrs’ offense and defense worked hand-in-hand in a seesaw of a game to defeat the Emmaus Hornets, 21-16, on Sept. 15 at Whitehall.

“We knew it was gonna come down to the last minute because we were going back and forth, and you didn’t know who was gonna have the lead next, so we just had to have faith that our defense was gonna go out there and make a big stand with 1:50 left, and they did,” said Whitehall quarterback Trey Dogmanits (169 passing yards).

With a Whitehall lead and 1:41 on the clock, defensive end Kaden Weaver came up with a sack on Emmaus quarterback Josiah Williams (100 passing yards) for a 3-yard loss, and on the next play, Williams’ pass was nearly intercepted by Zephyr defensive back Kayden Davis.

Whitehall coach Andy Marino then called a timeout.

“I was just more worried about what we needed to do to get it done. There were, at most, two plays left, so I wanted to make sure we were on the same page,” Marino said. “It only counts as one (win), so tomorrow we’ll wake up and peel back the curtains, but we’ll enjoy it. You can’t take it to next week.”

On third-and-19, Williams was sacked again; this time, by Justus Miles, and on the Hornets’ last chance, Davis’ second chance at an interception was realized.

“I play receiver too, so I’m taught to protect the ball, so I came down with it. Definitely nerves in the body, but it’s good. It brings the excitement, the adrenaline. Definitely need it,” Davis said. “It was a big play in the game, sealed the game, and it felt good to win the game for the team. We haven’t beaten Emmaus in awhile, so it felt good to beat them this year.”

Emmaus scored on its opening drive that started at midfield after Whitehall’s failed attempt at an onside kick.

“We saw it was there,” said Coach Marino. “It was open.”

Whitehall kicker Andrew Deutsch’s 27-yard field goal put the Zephyrs on the scoreboard early in the second quarter, and shortly before halftime, Emmaus responded with Will Buck’s 45-yard field goal to take a 10-3 halftime lead.

“We had the game plan down, and in the first half, we were figuring things out, and at halftime, we said we need to execute this and execute that, and we came out and did what we needed to do and put points up on the board,” said Dogmanits.

An Emmaus fumble in the third quarter was recovered by Whitehall defensive back Brandon Bird (10 tackles) that led to the Zephyrs’ first touchdown of the game.

“It feels great to make a big play and it’s so nice to celebrate with my teammates. These are my brothers out here,” Bird said. “Everyone was doing their job, and if they didn’t do their job, I couldn’t have made those plays. Their quarterback’s power was giving us a lot of problems, but then we found a way to get around that eventually, and then our offense put us in a great position, and our defense took over from there.”

Dogmanits completed a pass on fourth-and-6 to Talon Dogmanits, and on third-and-10, found Braden Bashore (45 receiving yards) for another first down.

Whitehall running back Dalton Wickel (55 rushing yards) ran up the middle for the touchdown, but the extra point was blocked, and the Zephyrs still trailed, 10-9.

The Hornets went to their passing game, but Whitehall’s Kai Trokon’s interception, initially tipped by Emmaus’s Jordin Mitchell, led to the Zephyrs’ second touchdown.

On fourth-and-10, Dogmanits found Jack Kocher (95 receiving yards) in the back of the end zone, and the Zephyrs led, 15-10.

“They’re big up front, but our line handled them very well because they have two D1 interior guys, and our line is younger but they gained great experience and did a great job tonight,” said Dogmanits. “I had time to do what I needed to do.”

Williams’ 1-yard touchdown put the Hornets ahead, 16-15, with 6:02 remaining.

Dogmanits then completed four passes on his way to a 4-yard touchdown, taking back the lead for Whitehall for good.

“I saw that both my receivers (Carter Troxell and Braden Bashore) were covered, and I knew that they were blocking me, and I had a lane and ran it in,” Dogmanits said. “You know, Emmaus did a good job in the beginning, but I had faith that our defense would eventually get a stop and seal the game for us.”

The Zephyrs are scheduled to host the Freedom Patriots on Sept. 22 for their third consecutive home game.