On Halloween afternoon, Emmaus did a ghoulish thing to the Whitehall football team, swatting away their chances for a victory and ultimately eliminating them from playoff contention.

Emmaus found its back against the wall as the Zephyrs, trailing by five points, drove 72 yards for an opportunity to win the game and keep their playoff hopes alive. That drive had two crucial fourth down conversions, the first a sideline catch by Bryce Crum who had made the haul with a defender draped all over him, the second was a scramble by Gianni Sinatore who kept the drive alive by gaining 22 yards after the play broke down.

The drive continued, but eventually stalled inside the 10, with the Zephs only able to gain a yard on three plays from scrimmage. With the clock now under a minute to play, the Zephs were facing fourth and goal at the 8-yard-line, and they were looking for a little magic.

It appeared they found some fortune as an open Desmond Boykin streaked across the end zone, but a Green Hornet lineman did his best impression of Thing from “The Addams Family” and smacked down the football, preserving Emmaus’ 32-27 victory on Halloween.

“We had guys open, it just got batted down,” said head coach Brian Gilbert. “Their ends are tall, and that’s what happened.”

Whitehall’s record now stands at 3-6 overall and 1-6 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. Even with the EPC guaranteed six slots in the subregional tourney, the Zephs, who are currently 14th in the 4A power rankings, can’t vault into the top six with just one game remaining.

The Halloween game had an eerie feel given the circumstances surrounding the contest at Zephyr Stadium, a game that was scheduled to take place the night before at Emmaus’ home field. But a lockdown at the high school led to the school being closed on Friday, prompting cancellations of all activities. The game was then rescheduled for Saturday afternoon at Emmaus, but that was changed to Whitehall, giving Emmaus a home field game on Whitehall’s turf.

The eeriness was further enhanced by no bands playing at halftime or in the stands, and a very sparse crowd for the Saturday game.

While Emmaus’ size along the defensive front led to a few balls being batted down during the game, it was their rushing attack that spelled the most disaster for Whitehall. The Green Hornets gained 440 yards on the ground, with the lion’s share coming from back Kyle Boney who set an Emmaus single-game rushing record with 375 yards, breaking Andy Davidson’s previous record.

The Emmaus offense may well as be called “Run 44.” They handed the ball to Boney- number 44- 34 times. He also scored four touchdowns and usually was dragging defenders as he compiled those yards.

Even though Whitehall was prepared for Run 44, they had their hands full trying to contain him.

“That [offensive] line is huge,” said Gilbert. “Just a huge line and he does a good job running behind it.”

While the Green Hornets relied on Boney for most of their offense, Whitehall looked to Sinatore for an answer to Emmaus’ ball-control running game.

Sinatore did most of the damage through the air. The senior was 27-40 for 369 yards and two touchdowns. He also added 73 yards on the ground. Sinatore was able to make the big play in response to Boney’s TD romps, one of those and 80-yard catch and run to Boykin, drawing them to within five in the fourth, setting up that final drive.

The Zephs needed those big plays to stay within striking distance. On the previous drive before Boykin’s big catch and run, both Devin Castro and Phil Reeves helped keep the chains moving with 13-yard receptions. The drive was capped by another big Boykin play, this time a 12-yard TD run that saw him veer to the far sideline after finding a big hole off tackle to draw them to within five, 20-25.

Boykin finished with four catches for 88 yards, and also had three runs for 16 yards.

Boykin wasn’t the only Zephyr making his mark in the passing game. Jackson Buskirk led the way with seven receptions for 69 yards, including a touchdown, while Castro had five catches for 114 yards.

Gilbert knew the reason they were in the position to win the game was that critical fourth down run by Sinatore to set up the possible winning touchdown.

“Gianni played such a great game,” said Gilbert. “If we could have pulled that out, it would have been awesome for him.”

Green Hornet quarterback Derek Sheaffer only attempted four passes, completing two. But one of those was a big first down to Brandon Rapose in the fourth quarter that eventually led to a 42-yard field goal attempt by Carson Landis that could have put them ahead by eight.

The Zephs also lost a fumble on the doorstep of the end zone on their first possession of the game.

“This one hurts, we were right there,” said Gilbert. “This was a tough one with a back and forth game like that.”

The Zephs will now regroup and look to retain the Cement Bowl Trophy when they meet Northampton this week.

“We need this one bad so our guys will be hungry for this,” said Gilbert.