As they begin the fourth week of the season with a 0-3 record, Whitehall’s Brandon Bird is well aware of some of his team’s problems.

The Zephyrs are coming off a 38-7 loss to East Stroudsburg South, and they will travel to Pocono Mountain West Friday night.

“The East Stroudsburg South game showed us that we need to play with less penalties and better alignment,” said the senior safety\wide receiver. “We need to not have turnovers on offense and start creating turnovers on defense.

“We also need to keep drives going on third down and get off the field when we are on defense.”

East Stroudsburg South returned two Whitehall interceptions for touchdowns. Whitehall managed 160 yards of total offense.

Senior running back Carter Troxell, the team’s leading rusher who didn’t play last week due to an injury, remains confident the team can turn it around beginning this week with Pocono Mountain West.

“I see the Pocono Mountain West game is a very important game for us,” he stressed. “It’s definitely a must-win game. I believe with a good week of practice, the guys will be able to get it done.”

Senior lineman Alex Magarin has seen the expected growing pains with youth and inexperience.

“As we play more games, we are realizing and fixing the mistakes that are being made,” he stressed. “The West game is important because we are looking for our first win and need a confidence boost leading into some tougher games.

“We are still a young team, and we will continue to get better week-by-week.”

Head coach Andy Marino also plans to keep it positive and back to basics.

“We as a program, coaches and players need to continue to improve,” said Marino. “This week is another opportunity to have a great week of practice and play the game we love.”

PREDICTION (Overall record 0-3): Pocono Mountain West (1-2) is coming off a 21-7 loss to Dieruff last week. They opened with a 14-7 loss to Scranton and then beat Belmont Charter, 9-0. The Panthers have lost their last three meetings to the Zephyrs. Last season, Whitehall beat them, 34-10, in a district playoff game ... Zephyrs quarterback Tanner Dogmanits completed 12 of 21 passes for 108 yards with two interceptions, both for a pick-sixes. Dogmanits also ran for a team-high 29 yards ... Zephyr players have a sense of urgency and frustration. It has been a slow sled because of their transition with some inexperience. This game suddenly becomes a must-win situation for them. The Zephs need a mistake-free first half and have to gain some early momentum. If they can do that, the long bus ride to Clark Summit won’t seem that bad. Defense will need to step up. Tough call here, but I’ll lean to the Zephyrs, and boys’ basketball coach Jeff Jones can pick me up a cheesesteak at Wawa ... ZEPHYRS, 17-13.