When Emmaus attempted a 42-yard field goal on their opening possession last Friday night, the Zephyrs were penalized for encroachment on the kick, a sign of things to come as mistakes played a prominent role in their loss to the Green Hornets.

Carson Landis easily booted the now 37-yard kick through the uprights and the Hornets took a 3-0 lead. But even as Whitehall stormed back to take a 14-3 lead, penalties became a problematic theme throughout the game. It wasn’t the number or the cumulative yardage, but they helped extend Emmaus’ drives, and also cost them a big play on offense.

Once Whitehall scored those 14 points in the first quarter, they didn’t cross the goal line again as Emmaus reeled off 35 unanswered points to win 38-14. The loss drops the Zephs to 1-1, while Emmaus moves to 2-0.

It wasn’t just penalties that told the story. Landis was also a huge factor in the win, constantly kicking the ball in the end zone for a touchback. That allowed the Green Hornets to force Whitehall into a number of three and outs deep in their own territory. With the aid of Landis’ leg, the field position battle clearly belonged to the Hornets. Whitehall’s average drive start was at the 23. Compare that to Emmaus whose average drive start was at the 46.

“We knew going into the game that he had a big leg, and that was a huge part of the story,” said head coach Brian Gilbert.

As the Zephyrs prepared for the EPC contest, Gilbert had let the press know that he believed that special teams would be an area that could make a difference.

The Hornets two initial touchdown drives began at the their own 40, and Whitehall’s 49, respectively. They finished the game with 109 yards in kickoff return yardage, besting Whitehall by 51 yards in that department. And with Whitehall trying to gain traction, especially late in the game, Landis’ ability to make them drive 80 yards played a big part in keeping them bottled up in their own territory.

Whitehall also had trouble stopping Josh Artis, and that was another factor in helping the Hornets pull away from the Zephs. The junior receiver had a number of big plays, his most impressive one coming early in the fourth quarter when he made what could be best described as a circus catch. Artis made the initial reception, but bobbled the ball and was still running while trying to secure the ball which had wound up behind his back. When he finally brought it around front, he had reeled off 52 yards and set up the Hornets for another score. As the play unfolded, you half expected “Sweet Georgia Brown” to start playing over the PA system at East Penn School District Stadium. Artis finished the game with eight catches for 144 yards and two scores.

Artis is another quality Emmaus receiver who have come along in recent years, following in the footsteps of Kevin White and Kyzir White.

While the scoreboard may have indicated total domination by the Hornets, the stat line was virtually even for both teams. Whitehall had 325 total yards, while Emmaus had 312. First downs were 15-14 in Whitehall’s favor, and the turnovers were even.

It came down to mistakes, field position and big plays, all of which were in Emmaus’ favor.

“It was more about us shooting ourselves in the foot that game,” said Gilbert.

The game started well for Whitehall. On their first possession, they used a good mix of the run and pass to get the ball down to the 37-yard-line. One of those plays was an out pattern from Zach Gilbert to Devin Castro for a first down. Zach Gilbert was 3-of-3 on that drive. Tavion George got the Zephs on the board with a burst up the middle. side stepping a defender as he went virtually untouched into the end zone.

On their ensuing possession, the Zephs got a big play from Dez Boykin, who took a direct snap and rumbled 72 yards down the far sideline before being caught from behind by an Emmaus defender. Whitehall was now at the Hornet 9, but gained just two yards on their next three plays to bring up 4th and 7. That’s when Zach Gilbert rolled to his right and found Jackson Buskirk in the front of the end zone for the score.

Zach Gilbert finished the game 21-of-35 for 177 yards. At times he had to get rid of the ball quickly, especially when they were in the red zone in the second half, and that disrupted some of their attempts for six.

Gilbert said that Zach Gilbert played well.

“I was pleased with how he played,” said Gilbert. “Now, he has to keep progressing and keep getting better.”

Emmaus quarterback Derek Sheaffer also played well. He threw for three scores and finished the game 14-of-16 for 179 yards.

His supporting cast was also effective as running backs Meyers Lubens and Ntoh Stone combined for 110 yards.

WHS now prepares for a home game against Nazareth Friday.