Zephyrs imperfect but unbeaten

FROM THE MORNING CALL

In the moments after his Whitehall team defeated host Emmaus 27-14 on Friday night in its Lehigh Valley Conference opener, Zephyrs coach Tony Trisciani was informed of some of the other scores from around the LVC … results like Nazareth beating Easton and Freedom knocking off Central Catholic.

"All of those scores are great, but I really don't care about them," Trisciani said. "All I care about is the mistakes within our program that we have to fix. And we will fix them."

Once the Zephyrs (2-0) clean up the errors and other factors like fatigue and cramps that kept bogging them down against the Green Hornets, they might be the best team in the LVC.

"I absolutely think we can be as good as anybody, but we're still a work in progress," Trisciani said. "I didn't expect our kids to play perfect last week and we almost did. I didn't expect our kids to play perfect tonight and we didn't. We've got to fix the mistakes."

Despite lacking a complete effort that could have delivered a second straight convincing win, Whitehall had to be content with a third straight victory over its former Thanksgiving Day rival that was solid but not totally satisfying.

The Zephs once led 20-0, getting TD runs from quarterback Nick Shafnisky, Andrew Harris and Tanner Madouse over the game's first 14 minutes.

But from there, Whitehall got tired and sloppy and allowed Emmaus to get itself together after a sluggish start.

Late in the first half the Green Hornets had a drive to the Whitehall 1-yard-line stymied by a procedure penalty and a missed field goal, but came right back to get on the board just before halftime.

Junior quarterback Andrew Kerson regrouped after throwing two interceptions and completed three straight passes, including an 18-yarder to Nick Heiser-Koch that pulled the Green Hornets within 20-7 at halftime.

But while a Lower Macungie Youth Night crowd of about 4,000 enjoyed the refreshment stands and bands at intermission, the Zephyrs seemed to get their second wind in the locker room.

They came out and blew Emmaus off the ball during an impressive 15-play, 80-yard drive that took seven minutes off the clock and ended when Harris recorded his second TD of the night.

"I was happy with how we came out in the first quarter and I was happy with how we came out in the third," Trisciani said. "That was a real important drive to start the second half. We challenged our kids and they stepped up and got it done."

It didn't last, however.

"Once we got tired, we started to make the same mistakes we made in the first half when we had a lot of penalties," Trisciani said. "We got tired and started cramping and some subs had to go in and execute, and then we didn't look as good."

Harris and Shafnisky both looked good at times, running behind a physical, veteran offensive line.

Harris rushed for 107 yards, while Shafnisky added 92 on the ground and threw for 126. Shafnisky's touchdown run was also definitely highlight-worthy as he broke about five tackles and dragged a few Green Hornets into the end zone.

"I just ran as hard as I could and I didn't want to stop; it was one of the best runs I've ever had," Shafnisky said.

As for the game overall, Shafnisky echoed Trisciani and said: "It wasn't pretty, but we were really physical on offense and defense and our lines got the job done up front. Our O-line always has my back. We're on track to be a real good team. We've just got to keep going."

Despite the defeat, Emmaus (1-1) could take solace in a never-say-die effort that kept the Green Hornets hanging around.

Kerson wound up with 165 yards passing and kept battling through some early adversity. Khaleel Artis ran for another 70 yards and a score. Andrew Brown had a fumble recovery and return that gave Emmaus one last chance late.

"The kids battled and that was a very positive sign," Hornets coach Joe Bottiglieri said. "We had opportunities, but we didn't capitalize on all of our opportunities. Even at the end, we've got to get that ball in the end zone and then we go onside kick and who knows? But then the mistakes hurt us.

"I still think we learned a lot and improved. We showed some grit."

http://www.mcall.com/sports/varsity/mc-whitehall-emmaus-football-0909-20110909,0,4271217.story