The Whitehall offense was clicking as the Zephyrs took care of business against the Konkrete Kids to close out the regular season, and in the process cemented a home playoff game to begin the district playoffs.

The win puts them atop the four 5A teams in the District XI playoffs, earning them a match against East Stroudsburg North this Friday.

The Zephyrs wasted little time in getting on the board as Tavion George took the ball in from the one, giving the Zephs an early lead. They would add seven more scores, with five different players finding pay dirt en route to a 52-12 victory over Northampton at Al Erdosy Stadium last Friday night.

The win pushes their record to 6-4 and it also gives them possession of the Cement Bowl Trophy for another year.

With theKonretete Kids winless heading into the game, Whitehall head coach Brian Gilbert knew he would receive Northampton’s best effort. He had to make sure his team stayed focused, paying attention to the little things, one of which was not committing penalties. For Gilbert, that was one of the takeaways from the game.

“We weren’t sloppy,” said Gilbert. “We did what we needed to do and played a clean game.”

Penalties have plagued the Zephyrs this season and Gilbert said that they were able to avoid those mental mistakes against the Kids. He also wanted them to take care of the ball. However, they did lose a fumble but stayed clear of any turnovers that could have swung the momentum in Northampton’s favor.

The Zephs also showcased their potent offense, piling up 489 total yards. A lot of those came off the left arm of quarterback Zach Gilbert, who threw for 278 yards, including four touchdowns.

Arguably his best throw was a deep go pattern to Dez Boykin that covered 58 yards for a score early in the third quarter. He dropped the ball into Boykin’s arms as the fleet receiver was gaining separation, leading to the TD. He also found Devin Martinez up the seam for 48 yards and a score earlier in the game.

The senior signal caller echoed his coaches assessment of the game.

“We just wanted to be smooth and limit our mistakes,” said Zach Gilbert. “Going into the playoffs we want to clean up any errors we’ve been having all season. I think we did a good job with that tonight.”

Zach Gilbert was able to get a lot of his receivers involved in the action, connecting with seven different players during the game. He also found Jacob Snyder for a 10-yard score, Snyder’s third TD in the last two games.

“It’s nice to have a lot of weapons,” said Zach Gilbert. “When you spread the ball around, the defense can’t just lock in on one guy because that leaves someone else open.”

One of those players who got open was Martinez. He blew by the safety as if he was standing still for the 48-yard TD.

“It was a clear route, and I just went to the middle, and I was open and he [Zach Gilbert] hit me,” said Martinez.

It was Martinez’s first touchdown catch of the season and it “felt great,” according to the senior tight end. He said that during practice this week a coach asked if he would finally catch a TD, and Martinez responded by assuring him he would find the end zone. He held true to that promise, helping stake the Zephs to a 20-0 lead in the second quarter.

The Kids did not go away and got a big play from quarterback Colin Schucker who rumbled 23 yards for a score. He added another big run in the third quarter, this time rushing 56 yards for the TD.

Gilbert also said that their defense played well, especially in the secondary, limiting the Kids to just 25 yards through the air. Jackson Buskirk led the team in tackles with eight, while Roy Reeves had seven, including two for losses.

The Zephs were also dynamic on the ground with Braxton Marrero leading their backs with 44 yards. George finished the game with 25 yards, while Boykin added 29.

But it was Boykin’s explosiveness after the catch that makes him the most feared receiver in the EPC. He finished the game with six catches for 141 yards, a lot of those on bubble screens where he can weave through opposing tacklers like Houdini.

With the regular season now behind them and the playoffs ahead, the Zephyrs have an opportunity to make a postseason run that could mean football deep into November. Zach Gilbert said this season has seen an improvement over last year, but he still feels there were games that they could have won.

“We can’t look backward, we just have to look forward to the playoffs,” said Zach Gilbert.