Zephyrs rush their way to victory

FROM THE MORNING CALL

As Andrew Harris broke into the clear one final time, he peeked at the Whitehall sideline for instructions.

Should he score? Should he fall down so the Zephyrs could salt away the rest of the clock? Decisions, decisions.

A Central Catholic defender eventually settled the matter, bringing Harris down at the Vikings' 7-yard line. That left him with 282 rushing yards to lead Whitehall as it pounded its way to a 36-28 win in a Lehigh Valley Conference football game Friday night at Zephyr Stadium.

Coming off a one-point overtime loss to Easton at home a week ago, Whitehall (5-1 overall, 4-1 LVC) delivered a determined effort. The Zephyrs attempted just six passes as they elected to ram the ball at Central Catholic (2-4, 2-3) behind the league's most experienced offensive line.

Save for a couple of drives, the Vikings could not contain Whitehall's ground game. The Zephyrs finished with 479 rushing yards and averaged 9.2 yards per carry.

Harris led the way with the game of his career. He ran for 100 yards in the first half but took over the game in the second half.

It started with a 44-yard run on his first carry after the break. He finished his night with two backbreaking carries.

The first was a 50-yard touchdown run that pushed Whitehall's lead to 36-21 with 3:43 to play. After Central Catholic answered with a touchdown but failed to recover an onside kick, Harris burst free for his game-clinching 46-yard run.

"It hasn't hit me yet," he said. "We've been wanting to beat these guys for three years. We came up short. We were fired up. The offensive line was fired up. I hit the holes. That's all I did.

"Everything was in slow motion [on my last run]," he added. "I couldn't have pictured it any better."

Whitehall's dominance up front and on the ground played out exactly as Central Catholic coach Harold Fairclough feared it could. James Wash ran eight times for 103 yards and two scores for the Zephyrs, and Tanner Madouse added 62 yards on four carries.

Central Catholic surrendered 13 runs of 10-plus yards.

"We knew they were going to be tough," Fairclough said. "They're big. They're physical. Harris is a great back. We couldn't get stops. We couldn't get off the field when we needed to. We gave up big plays again on defense.

"As bad as we played on defense, it was still an eight-point game. We've got to find ways to win these close games."

Central Catholic trailed 22-14 at the half but went 70 yards for a TD on the first drive of the third quarter to get within a point. Whitehall's defense came through from there, picking off Central Catholic quarterback Brendan Nosovitch and then forcing punts on the Vikings' next three possessions.

Nosovitch wound up with 213 passing yards but needed 42 attempts to reach that total. Kevin Gulyas (15 catches, 96 yards) and Jalen Snyder-Scipio (12 catches, 117 yards) combined to catch all 27 of Nosovitch's completions.

Nosovitch also ran 20 times for 144 yards. The Zephyrs, however, limited Central Catholic's explosive plays, doing an exceptional job of keeping Gulyas in front of them and tackling him when he caught the ball.

"Any time you can get a stop against these guys, it's a big stop because they're so good and they can do so much well," Whitehall coach Tony Trisciani said. "They're going to get their plays. They're going to get a 15-yard play. They're going to get a 30-yard play here and there. You're going to miss a tackle, and Nosovitch is going to hurt you with his legs.

"But you've just got to play the next snap and try to get a stop on the next series. That's what we did."

While Whitehall stayed in the hunt for an LVC title, Central Catholic's second straight one-score loss has left it in dire straits. The Vikings may well need to win out against Parkland, Dieruff, Allen and Emmaus for a chance to defend their District 11 Class 3A championship.

"We have no choice," Fairclough said. "The kids know what's at stake. They're online and watching the points. We have to win out."

http://www.mcall.com/sports/varsity/mc-football-whitehall-1007-20111007,0,2534022.story