With a little over a minute left in the third quarter, Whitehall defensive back Ryan Klaugh stepped in front of a Freedom receiver and intercepted Joe Young’s pass, giving the Zephyrs excellent field position in a tight game.

At that point, the Zephs were trailing 15-6, and Klaugh’s pick gave them the ball at Freedom’s 37-yard line. A touchdown would have put them within two points (one, if they could covert a two-point conversion) of the undefeated Patriots, the team who knocked them out of the district playoffs last season.

But what transpired during that ensuing series was a microcosm of the entire game for the Zephs. In that series they had three negative yardage plays and a penalty, halting their drive and forcing them to punt.

They never recovered from that missed opportunity, something that haunted them the rest of the night leading to 29-6 loss last Friday at Frank Banko Field in Bethlehem.

The loss to the Pates drops them to 2-5 on the season, while Freedom stays undefeated at 7-0.

The Zephyrs had 10 penalties for 71 yards, the majority of those coming in the second half. They also had 13 plays for losses, one of those resulting in a Freedom score.

“When we stayed on track on offense, we were OK,” said head coach Brian Gilbert. “When we got those penalties that got us off track, that killed us.”

The game was within their reach for most of the evening. After the Patriots took an early lead, scoring on a one-yard plunge by running back Andres Santos, the Zephs forced a three and out on the Pates next possession with Bryce Crum blanketing Cordell Cotto on a critical third down.

The Zephs took over on their own 41-yard-line following the punt, and quarterback Gianni Sinatore immediately hit back Braxton Marrero for seven yards. The Zephs continued to mix in the run and the pass during the drive which carried into the second quarter. Facing a 4th and 2 on Freedom’s 27, Sinatore took the ball and busted up the middle for the score. That TD was aided by a big block from Desmond Boykin who allowed Sinatore to go in untouched.

The extra point was unsuccessful, but the Zephyrs proved they could move the ball on Freedom.

But then the negative plays reared their head again, with Cotto dropping Boykin in the end zone for a safety to take a 9-6 lead on the Zephs next possession. That play was set up by the previous negative play where Sinatore was dropped for an 8-yard loss following a scramble.

Defensively, the Zephyrs were in the game, allowing them to stay within striking distance until late in the fourth quarter. They bottled up Santos for the majority of the game, with most of his damage coming late. Likewise, they kept Young in check who eventually left the game after taking a hit midway through the second quarter.

“We played really good defense tonight, and then when we got the ball on offense, we got off track and made stupid mistakes,” said Gilbert.

Then came the interception in the third quarter that could have moved them within a score of any kind if they could convert the turnover.

Klaugh, who nabbed his fourth pick of the year, gave them the ball at the 37. However, the first play, a QB keeper lost 2 yards, and then a bubble screen to Boykin was negated due to a penalty. That was followed by another loss which eventually landed them at the 50-yard line facing a 3rd and 25.

The Zephs didn’t gain a yard, and were now staring at 4th down at midfield. But Freedom’s wrecking crew of Cotto, Joeshua Ortiz, Santos and Brady Hornbaker came up big once again, forcing the Zephs to turn over the ball on downs after a 5-yard gain.

“We were right there with the No. 9 team in the state,” said Gilbert. “We’re in this game if we don’t have the penalties and the mistakes.”

Gilbert said those mistakes also included dropped passes, missed blocks and missed assignments.

“You can’t do that against a good team,” he said.

The stats bore that out. They only had one fewer first down than the Pates (14-15), and only trailed in total yardage by 57 yards. They also held the ball longer than Freedom.

But it was a combination of penalties, negative plays and strong interior work by Freedom who limited the Zephs to just 43 yards on the ground that sealed their fate.

Gilbert also gave credit to Freedom who were responsible for some of their offensive woes.

“Their talent causes some of the stuff that went wrong with us,” said Gilbert.

Sinatore finished the game 14-of-30 for 178 yards, one of those passes was a pretty seam route to Devin Martinez for 26 yards. Jackson Buskirk also had a big catch for 29 yards, to keep a drive rolling.

Last week they were shut out by Easton, a game in which they were outmuscled by the Red Rovers.

Gilbert said this week they were more physical which kept them in the game.

With three more games remaining on their schedule, Gilbert said it was important to have another good week of practice like they did leading up to Freedom.

He said it’s now incumbent on the seniors to ensure they’re doing all they can to win these games.