With his team seemingly in transition this season, Whitehall senior quarterback Trey Dogmanits figured his team may take some time develop.

Four games into this season, Dogmanits and his teammates have realized that they are on a different track.

Whitehall raised its record to 3-1 when they rallied to defeat Emmaus, 21-16, marking the first time they have defeated the Green Hornets since the 2017 season.

The Zephyrs will try to keep their two-game winning streak going when they host Freedom, Friday night. The Patriots (1-3) lost to Allentown Central Catholic last Friday.

Dogmanits, who finished with 169 yards with a touchdown, engineered a 10-play, 90-yard drive and scored on a three-year keep with just under two minutes left in the game that gave the Zephyrs the victory.

Kayden Davis sealed the game with an interception with just over 40 seconds remaining. Dalton Wickel led the Zephyrs in rushing with 55 yards, and Jack Kocher caught six balls for 95 yards, one a 33-yard touchdown from Dogmanits.

Dogmanits appreciated the victory, but he knows his team can further mature.

“It was a great team win, but we have not reached our full potential,” he stressed. “This was a huge team win for the program since we hadn’t beaten them in a while.

“The standard is now set higher along with the expectations for us. Both sides of the ball and special teams are improving week in and week out.

“We are confident that we can compete with any team in the EPC (East Penn Conference) South. We just need to take on game at a time as we go through the heart of our EPC schedule.”

Head coach Andy Marino liked the play of his quarterback and his overall defense. Dogmanits also rushed for 17 yards.

“Trey made good decisions and used his feet at the right opportunity,” said Marino. “Our defense battled all game and executed in big situations.”

Marino also isn’t taking Freedom lightly despite their 1-3 record.

“Freedom is the model of consistency,” added Marino. “They are physical and well coached.”

PREDICTION (Overall record 3-1): Freedom led Central Catholic, 28-14, but the Vikings rallied to take a 35-34 lead. The Patriots scored to tie the game at 34 and elected to go for the winning two-point conversion, but the pass attempt failed ... Freedom quarterback Chase Walker threw for 182 yards with two touchdowns against ACC. For the season, Walker had 555 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions ... Freedom’s Noah Pierre rushed for 116 yards on 23 carries against ACC, and has 438 yards with four touchdowns for the season ... Ironically, like Emmaus, the Zephyrs have not beaten Freedom since the 2017 season when they posted a 45-37 victory. They dropped decisions in 2081 (27-13), 2019 (49-26), 2021 (41-12), and 2022 (33-17). They did not meet in 2020. Whitehall downed Freedom, 41-28, in 2016, but they lost, 29-6 in 2015 ... I owe the good people of Whitehall an apology for doubting the Zephyrs last week. Inside, I had a good feeling Whitehall would win. This week, I am going with the Zephyrs despite Freedom’s resiliency against ACC. Patriots have some new pieces in place off their 10-win team from a year ago ... Plenty of chatter about new regime around Whitehall, and Zephyrs loom as an early favorite to retain district crown ... Zephs easily could be 4-0 if not for some second-half breakdowns against Bethlehem Catholic ... A hoagie from Wawa and a soft pretzel does sound good ... ZEPHYRS, 24-14.