So far it's been bad news for Bethlehem schools to make their way to Zephyr Stadium on Friday nights.

Freedom High School was the latest casualty in that exercise, losing 42-21, in a game that was a bit more competitive than the final score indicated.

The Zephs took advantage of some Patriot miscues, including a key interception by Ryan Bonshak which was turned into a pick six, as well as a bad punt snap deep in Freedom territory that ultimately resulted in a score which helped close the door on the visitors.

It was a game in which the Zephs got some big plays, as well as some sustained drives in helping them record their second league win.

"We had a good offensive flow tonight," said Zephyr head coach Brian Gilbert. "We mixed the run and pass pretty well.

"I think the key thing right now is not relying on one person to carry the load. We have about seven guys who can get carries throughout the night."

The Zephs rushed for 157 yards with quarterback Nick Shafnisky picking up 55 yards on 10 carries, including three touchdowns. Also slashing through the Patriots defense was Bonshak with 42 yards, while James Wah had 28.

But it was some big plays that ultimately gave them separation from the Pates who were 1-0 in the league after beating Allentown Central Catholic High School last week.

When Freedom quarterback Brian Uliana tried to rally his team in the third quarter after Whitehall scored to reopen a two-touchdown lead, he looked to the air for one of his receivers, but instead found Bonshak who raced 68 yards for the score. It was Bonshak's second touchdown of the game, scoring earlier on a 25-yard run.

His pick six was the nail in the coffin, vaulting them to a 42-21 lead from which Freedom couldn't recover.

"A lot of credit goes to Shaf, [Nick Shafnisky] for giving the block, and then telling me to follow him, and I did, following him all the way to the end zone," said Bonshak.

Bonshak also knows the significance of getting off to a fast start. The win puts them among four undefeated teams in league play, a position they'd like to maintain.

"Everybody's good this year, and we just have to prove we're one of the best teams in the league," said Bonshak. "We have a lot of talent on our team, and then play how we know how to play football."

As for his earlier touchdown run, Bonshak relied on the big bodies up front as well as his instincts to reach paydirt.

"The line gave me a huge hole, and I ran up the middle, saw the cut back, and ran up, spun, then kept my feet moving to the end zone," said Bonshak.

While Freedom countered Whitehall early in the game, twice closing the gap to a touchdown, Whitehall's ability to respond to those TDs with ensuing scoring drives, was another key factor in the win.

And none was more important than the Shafnisky engineered nine-play drive that ended with him bulldozing defenders for a seven-yard score, giving the Zephs a 28-14 lead heading into halftime.

Along the way Shafnisky connected with tight end Nick Nejad for 19 yards and Wah for 12. Shafnisky finished the game 9-16 for 191 yards. The bulk of those yards went to Wah ( four catches for 72 yards) and Seth Sommer (two catches for 62 yards.)

It was another game in which Shafnisky established himself as one of the premier players in the league, accounting for 246 total yards.

"Today, right from the get-go we were ready," said Shafnisky. "The line came out and made huge holes that helped us run the ball.

"In our passing game, our receivers Nick and Seth Sommer made nice catches that really helped me out."

Shafnisky has helped the team get off to a fast start, and he knows that they'll need to stay sharp to keep piling up the Ws.

"It's huge to come away with two LVC wins," said Shafnisky. "It's also good to get it against a really good offensive team, with Uliana and their running back [Christian Negron] who played really well…so it's huge beating them."

Gilbert also recognized the importance of responding to Freedom's charge. It led to some opportunities for big plays.

"I think both on offense and defense, we were opportunistic," said Gilbert. "If they scored, we would respond. That was critical."

Defensively, they got outstanding efforts from Jacob Kerchner who had 10 tackles, three of those for losses. Additionally, Chad Rex and Stephen Buss had solid games, recording six and five tackles, respectively. They also had a number of takeaways, including a late interception by Seth Sommer to end the Pates threat.

The defense's ability to make some big plays steered them in the right direction.

"We were looking for some of that tonight to happen," said Gilbert. "Our defense kind of bent, bent, bent, but didn't break and…they were able to make some big plays there at the end."

With a big game looming against Nazareth, Gilbert is going to reinforce his message.

"We got to tell them that we can't be satisfied, and we have to keep working hard, and ever week it's going to be like this," said Gilbert. "It's going to be a battle every week."