Easton holds off Whitehall in OT

FROM STEPHEN MILLER

As Whitehall quarterback Nick Shafnisky's two-point pass floated toward Andrew Harris, Easton coach Steve Shiffert watched and wondered whether his team would escape overtime or suffer a crushing defeat.

Moments later, Shiffert saw the football sitting on the grass, allowing the Red Rovers to whoop it up.

With Harris unable to haul in Shafnisky's throw, Easton walked out of Zephyr Stadium with a 34-33 win in a Lehigh Valley Conference thriller Friday night that featured last season's District 11 Class 4A finalists. Easton beat Whitehall 13-10 last year to win its second straight district title.

Quarterback Ian Hayden's 9-yard touchdown run on the second play of overtime gave the Red Rovers (3-2 overall, 2-2 LVC) the lead, and Chris Roubik's extra point wound up being the difference when Whitehall (4-1, 3-1) failed on its two-point conversion. The try came after Nate Hoenl caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Shafnisky on Whitehall's first offensive snap of overtime.

"We learned our lesson last week [in a 24-0 loss to Parkland]," Shiffert said. "We got whacked. Now we know what it takes to win the big ones. We've got to grow from this."

With two losses heading into Friday, Easton viewed its trip to Whitehall as a must-have game to stay in the hunt for a spot in the Districts 2-4-11 Class 4A playoffs. The Red Rovers played that way in the first half, taking a 27-14 lead into the locker room.

Hayden (230 passing yards, two touchdowns, three interceptions) had a huge first half, throwing for 201 yards and leading the Red Rovers on five scoring drives. Whitehall had surrendered just 165 passing yards and 13 first-half points during its 4-0 start.

The Zephyrs stiffened in the second half, picking off Hayden twice, with the second one setting up a two-yard touchdown run by Tanner Madouse on a lateral from Shafnisky. The Zephyrs missed the ensuing extra point, leaving the game tied at 27-27 with 4:55 left in regulation.

It stayed that way into overtime. After a 1-yard run by James Middleton (126 yards from scrimmage, two touchdowns) on the first play of the extra session, Hayden darted 9 yards for a go-ahead touchdown, diving inside the left pylon for a 33-27 lead.

"We went trips to the left with back-end blocking, and everyone was running slants," Hayden said. "I saw the backers drop back, so I just looked to roll out to the left side, because I knew they were all going in. I thought maybe there would be an opening with everybody dragging a man. Luckily there was, and I just put a little move on the man out there and made a dive for the pylon."

Roubik, who missed a 32-yard field goal in the waning seconds of regulation, drilled the extra point after Hayden's touchdown. He helped Easton build its first-half lead with two booming field goals, connecting from 33 and 34 yards.

"There was nothing to be said [after the missed field goal]," Shiffert said. "We wouldn't be here if he didn't punch two through earlier in the game. There wouldn't be an overtime. He controlled the game early with his kickoffs, putting them on the 20 and putting points on the board for us."

Whitehall did not relinquish its perfect record without a fight. The Zephyrs dominated possession in the second half, using 13- and 10-play touchdown drives to tied the game.

They also answered right back in overtime with Shafnisky (173 yards of total offense) hooking up with Hoenl (four catches, 47 yards) for a touchdown that brought them within a point. Whitehall took a timeout after the score and elected to go for the win, with Shafnisky's pass falling out of the reach of a diving Harris.

"We had a play that we liked and we practice it a lot," Whitehall coach Tony Trisciani said. "It's Week 5 in the season. This doesn't define who we are."

Friday may not define Easton either, but winning may have saved its season. The Red Rovers controlled Whitehall's ground game, limiting it to 140 yards and 3.8 yards per carry, and received enough big plays from Hayden, Middleton and freshman receiver Shane Simpson (five catches, 108 yards) to overcome its miscues.

"We knew we had to lay it all on the line tonight," Hayden said. "The team rallied around me after I made a bunch of poor decisions. We just got the job done in the end."

http://www.mcall.com/sports/varsity/mc-football-whitehall-0930-20110930,0,7776910.story