With much of the student body in costume at Zephyr Stadium last Friday in anticipation of Halloween, it was the Whitehall football team whose change into a band of thieves versus Easton that put the Red Rovers in a frightful mood.

Three of Whitehall's four interceptions prevented possible Red Rover scores, with the other setting up one of their own, and the opportunistic defense helped the Zephs earn a 31-21 victory over previously unbeaten Easton on senior night.

The win also keeps the Zephs Lehigh Valley Conference title hopes alive, needing only to defeat Northampton Area High School this week to claim at least a share of the crown.

Senior James Wah was the primary thief, robbing the Red Rovers twice in the end zone. His second quarter pick was perhaps the biggest, wresting the momentum away from Easton who were threatening to go into halftime with the lead. His diving catch off a halfback option in the corner of end zone kept the game knotted at 14. His other pick came on a fourth-and-one Hail Mary heave with a little over a minute left in the fourth quarter, effectively shutting the door on the Red Rovers.

Another culprit on the larceny squad was Saquon Barkley. His pick during Easton's initial drive to start the third quarter set up the go-ahead touchdown.

The final bandit was Nicholas Shafnisky who out jumped everyone to halt another Easton drive.

Those takeaways played an important role in notching their eighth win.

"The four turnovers were huge," said head coach Brian Gilbert. "Any time you have plus-four turnovers, you should expect to win the game.

"Our defense played great tonight, they bent a little bit, but didn't break, and made big plays when they had to."

They did a good job bottling up Easton's running game, keeping both Shane Simpson and Austin Brown from turning Zephyr Stadium into a track meet.

They also got a consistent push up front, with seniors Jake Wygant and Jacob Rex leading the charge that turned the Red Rovers into more of a passing team.

"According to our aggressive nature on the defensive side of the ball, and coming after teams, I think they thought they had some match-ups in the secondary they liked," said Gilbert.

Shafnisky, who calls the picks "sudden changes," said that the turnovers halted Easton's momentum, keeping a potent offense off the field, while providing a boost to their offense.

"That's when we really get going, when we have a sudden change," said Shafnisky.

With the offense reaping the benefit of Barkley's 29-yard run after intercepting Easton quarterback Bradley Wilkins at the Red Rovers 37-yard-line, the Zephs scored when Shafnisky bounced off tackle for the three-yard score.

That touchdown put the Zephyrs ahead for good, and later added another score and a final field goal by senior Tyler George whose 27-yard kick iced the game.

That intervening score came on a 50-yard strike when Shafnisky found fellow senior Nick Sommer on a crossing route, as the lanky wideout streaked down the near sideline, breaking tackles en route to the touchdown.

The Shafnisky to Nick Sommer connection was working all night, with Sommer hauling in six passes for 112 yards.

"We thought they were going to double cover him," said Shafnisky who finished the finished the game 13-25 for 166 yards and two scores. "Teams have started to double cover him like Emmaus, and they left him one-on-one out there so we said, 'Hey, let's take advantage of this.'"

Sommer's play-making ability also came into sharp focus on crucial third downs, helping the Zephs convert seven of its attempts.

"He made big plays all night for us," said Shafnisky.

"Anytime we needed a first down, especially in that last drive, Nick found Nick," said Gilbert. "Nick Sommer made a big play after the catch with his legs tonight, and it was pretty to see. Happy for him."

Shafnisky also did damage with his legs, running for 71 yards, including a TD. The senior signal caller needs 119 yards rushing yards the remainder of the year to be both a 1,000 yard passer and runner.

His ability to shred the Red Rover defense was predicated on the play up front.

"The line gave me time the whole game," said Shafnisky.

Taking down the Red Rovers who were ordained as the team to beat in the Lehigh Valley Conference was something that the team wanted from the outset.

"Everyone from the start of the season was saying 'Easton, Easton, Easton,' and then maybe Parkland, Whitehall and Nazareth," said Shafnisky. "To beat an 8-0 team, and still have only one LVC loss to Parkland, says a lot about this team."

With the potential of owning a share of the LVC title, the team has an opportunity to carve out a little history.

"For the seniors it's everything," said Shafnisky. "After our first game against Spring Ford, we were said, 'Okay what type of team are we, are we going to bounce back? We responded amazingly. This is huge for us."