When Mustafa Mitchell fielded the kickoff last Friday at Cottingham Stadium and raced 87 yards to tie the score right after Easton High School went ahead with under a minute remaining in the half, the mojo seemed to swing toward Whitehall.

Last year Mitchell took a fourth quarter kickoff at Cottingham and bolted 77 yards for a score, effectively dousing Easton's momentum after they trimmed the Zephs lead to three. And when he duplicated that feat to deflate their momentum heading into the intermission, it seemed that the tide had swung in Whitehall's favor as they headed into the locker room.

Now the question was: Would history repeat itself?

However, as the second half progressed, it felt more like last year's district semifinal game against Parkland when running back Kareem Williams torched them for 227 yards. This time it was Shane Simpson in the role of yard gobbler as he ran for 277 yards, igniting a wild night in which he scored seven of Easton's nine touchdowns en route to the 63-49 win.

It wasn't the history the Zephs were hoping for.

The loss places the Zephs in third place in the South Division of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, and in all likelihood eliminates them from the EPC Championship picture. Freedom and Easton remained tied atop the South, while in the North Division, Bethlehem Catholic and Stroudsburg remain knotted atop that division at 5-0, and 6-0 overall.

It wasn't just Simpson who kept the chain crew busy all night. Backfield mate Dalvyn Reynolds put his stamp on the game as well, rushing for 81 yards, while quarterback Trey Durrah also gashed the Zephs defense for 128 yards.

And the constant pounding took its toll, especially in the second half as they rolled up 704 yards of total offense to hand Whitehall their first loss of the season.

"They wore us down," said head coach Brian Gilbert. "They were more physical than we were. When you play physical on both sides of the ball, you're going to win. And that's what they did.

"They were physical at every position. Not just the line, but the receivers, running backs, defensive backs, linebackers. They were just more physical."

As the Red Rovers were doing their damage on the ground outrushing the Zephs 524 to 102 Whitehall was getting its points via special teams and defense. The Zephs scored on three kickoff returns, the first of which was on the opening play as Bryce Krum romped 70 yards to start the game. That set the stage for two more TD returns, as Saquon Barkley completed the trifecta with an 87-yard touchdown run of his own.

Another score came when Tyler Cyriax recovered a fumble early in the second quarter, returning it 37 yards for the touchdown. That score touchdown. That score tied the score at 21, and kept the Zephs even despite the total yardage discrepancy

Whitehall was able to put together just one sustained scoring drive on offense the entire night, and that happened on their third possession to start the second quarter. On that drive, quarterback Gianni Sinatore began by hitting Barkley for a 9-yard gain. After four running plays netted 25 yards, Sinatore found Barkley for a 13-yard score to tie the game at 14. The drive covered 47 yards in six plays,

Otherwise, big plays ruled the day as Barkley added to his touchdown total with a scintillating 69-yard run early in the third quarter. Their final TD was set up by a 39-yard strike from Sinatore to Chad Rex, putting the ball at the EAHS 10-yard line. Barkley capped the drive on the next play, bolting 10 yards to draw the Zephs within seven at 49-56.

Barkley finished the game with 113 yards and three TDs. The senior now has 1,050 yards on the season, passing Nick Kurtz as the all-time career rushing leader.

As formidable as the running game was for Easton, the Red Rovers weren't one-dimensional. Durrah completed 9-14 for 169 yards, including three touchdowns. He broke the defense's back twice on fourth down conversions with his arm, the second time was a six-yard scoring strike to Alec Bina to put them ahead 42-35.

As the game unfolded, the punching and counterpunching seemed to indicate that the last team to have the ball would win. However, once Easton forced a three-and-out with time winding down in the third quarter and leading 48-42, the momentum clearly shifted to the Red Rovers.

From there they marched 64 yards in nine plays and effectively sealed Whitehall's fate, cushioning their lead to two scores. That's when they went into their power running formation with a fullback and two tight ends to pave a path for Simpson who was electric all night.

"We have to learn from this," said Gilbert. "They did a good job of stopping the run. We'll just have to learn from this, that's all."