It was like déjà vu all over again for the Whitehall football team last Friday night.

The ghosts of the Nazareth games descended upon Zephyr Stadium and cast an eerie pall over the contest against Bethlehem Catholic.

Special teams plays played a vital role in their loss to the Blue Eagles, and it was a similar case against Bethlehem Catholic. In fact, an errant punt snap led to the first score of the game just like it did against Nazareth, the only difference was that Bethlehem Catholic recovered the ball in the end zone for the score.

And while Julian Liaci was working his magic against the Zephyrs, Nick Petros was confounding the Zephyr secondary, catching four balls for 147 yards and two touchdowns. On one of those TD catches he won a wrestling match in the end zone, taking the ball away from the defender as they both fought to gain control.

They Zephyrs overcame that first mistake and answered with an eight-play, 60-yard drive that was capped off by a 9-yard TD run by Tavion George.

But special teams reared its head again, this time on a safety after a Petros punt pinned them at their own 1-yard line, with Ralf Lozada corralling George in end zone for the two points.

After Whitehall’s ensuing drive stalled at midfield, Bethlehem Catholic gained control and quarterback Liam Nixon found Petros streaking down the far sideline for 69 yards and a score.

Whitehall wouldn’t score again until late in the fourth quarter, losing 40-20 to the Golden Hawks who now sit atop the EPC South at 7-1. Whitehall drops to 4-4.

One of head coach Brian Gilbert’s credos is winning the turnover battle, and after turning the ball over four times, three of those leading directly to touchdowns, it made for a long night. Bethlehem Catholic’s defense wound up scoring 23 points, including two pick sixes. The Zephs also muffed a kickoff, and had that aforementioned punt snap turned into a score.

“It’s tough to win with all that being considered,” said Gilbert.

The echoes from the Nazareth game were also present on the positive side of the ledger, including the total yardage battle which Whitehall won by nearly 100 yards, approximately the same margin they had against the Blue Eagles. They consistently moved the ball against the Golden Hawks, but squandered a couple of scoring chances deep in Bethlehem Catholic territory. The Zephs also had the ball longer, and were superior in the passing game with Zach Gilbert and Ethan Parvel combining for 430 yards.

Perhaps the biggest turning point occurred at the end of the second quarter. The Zephs were mounting a drive with Zach Gilbert connecting with Jackson Buskirk on some passes that ultimately got them inside the 10-yard line. A few plays later they managed to get the ball down to the two, but they were now facing fourth down. The Zephyrs had been in critical fourth down situations before this season, with Zach Gilbert connecting with Buskirk for a TD against Easton on one of those occasions. Once again they decided to line up looking to slice into Becahi’s lead. However, the completion to Devin Martinez fell short of the goal line and they entered the intermission trailing 16-7.

Gilbert said that their inability to score before the half was a combination of a number of factors, including execution on their part and play calling on his part. And when the Golden Hawks picked off the pass intended for Dez Boykin on Whitehall’s opening possession of the third quarter, resulting in a Daizhun Rhodes TD, the 14-point swing seemed to take some wind out of their sails.

“Our execution just wasn’t there,” said Gilbert. “It’s one of those things where we have to execute and take better care of the ball.”

The Zephs also allowed another rusher to go over the century mark, this time it was Randy Terry who rumbled for 152 yards. Still, Gilbert thought that their defense played well, keeping a high-scoring offense that was averaging 36 points a game in check most of the night. They were able to make some big plays, but the Zephs were swarming around the ball, especially Nick Dex who finished with 11 tackles.

He also said their offensive line performed well, allowing them to gain 170 yards on the ground. George led the way with 52 yards, while Boykin gained 44 yards, mostly on sweeps.

“I thought they played extremely well,” said Gilbert, noting that the Golden Hawks had one of the biggest fronts they faced.

With two games left in the regular season, Gilbert said that they’ll be looking to solidify their position among the 5A schools in the area. They currently have a slim lead over Southern Lehigh for the top spot among the teams in that classification.

“We’d like to win the next two games to have a home playoff game,” he said.