Heading into his senior night, Brandon Bird understood the importance of gaining a victory against Allentown Central Catholic. The Zephyrs (3-6) were coming off consecutive losses, and the defending district Class 5A champions wanted to gain some momentum heading into the postseason.

The Zephyrs responded in grand fashion with a 35-0 shutout over the Vikings. With the win, second-seeded Whitehall (3-6) will host third-seeded Pocono Mountain East (1-9) Thursday night.

“The win on senior night was a major boost, “said Bird, a safety who is among the team’s leading tacklers. “We need to carry what we did into the playoffs. We play Pocono Mountain East in the first round, and we are not going to overlook any opponent.”

Isklander Blanco ran for a pair of touchdowns, and Tanner Dogmanits flipped a 16-yard touchdown pass to brother Talon Dogmanits that gave the Zephyrs a 21-0 halftime lead.

Tanner Dogmanits later tossed a 26-yard scoring strike to Elik Warnken, and the quarterback also scored on a 15-yard run.

Senior linebacker Carter Troxell, who had six tackles, also relished the victory.

“It was a great win, and I was supper happy I was able to spend it on the field,” said Troxell. “We played our hearts out for that game, and we made some great memories out of it.

“Right now, I’m focused on Pocono Mountain East.”

Head coach Andy Marino saw plenty of chemistry against Central Catholic, and he is hopeful that it can carry over this week.

“Our players were focused on their job and played with incredible effort for each other,” noted Marino. “It was pretty cool to watch.

“We wanted to have a great night for our seniors. We look forward to spending another week with each other.”

PREDICTION (season record 3-6): The two teams haven’t met since 2020 when Whitehall posted 52-7 victory ... Whitehall beat Pocono Mountain West, 34-10, in the semifinals before they edged Southern Lehigh, 45-34, for the title last year ... Pocono Mountain East enters the game with a two-game losing streak. The Cardinals are led by quarterback Rocco Delguidice, who has thrown for 1,254 yards with nine touchdowns and nine interceptions. Stephen Bethea had rushed for 714 yards with three touchdowns, and Justin Williams has caught 35 passes for 617 yards with four touchdowns ... Tanner Dogmanits has thrown for 1,283 yards with six touchdowns and 10 interceptions, and he is also the team’s leading rusher with 284 yards with six touchdowns. Talon Dogmanits has 46 catches for 659 yards with four touchdowns. Adam Youwakim has a team-high 48 tackles, and Henry Schultz has 35. Bird has 161 yards rushing and 73 yards receiving along with 33 tackles.