Whenever the Zephyrs began to pick up steam at Cottingham Stadium last Friday, the Easton offense derailed any hopes of them getting back in the game and staying undefeated.

Oh, and the red Rover defense wasn’t too shabby in aiding Easton’s offense on a night where they compiled 56 points, the most an Eastern Pennsylvania Conference opponent has scored against Whitehall since the 63 points Easton rung up in 2014.

And it wasn’t just that they were putting points on the board to answer a Whitehall score, it was also the way in which they were doing it that signaled that a comeback wasn’t likely in store against the Red Rovers. They left wide receivers open on two occasions for easy touchdowns, one of those after Dez Boykin dashed five yards to cut Easton’s lead to 21-42 midway through the third quarter.

That’s when Eddie Olsen just slipped into the end zone untouched to give Easton a 49-21 lead, effectively shutting the door on the Zephs who would score once more on Allen Negrete’s 92-yard catch and run to make the final score 56-28, dealing Whitehall its first loss of the season.

That wasn’t the only time Olsen went uncovered. Earlier in the game, he practically waltzed into the end zone on a 36-yard TD toss from Rover quarterback Scott Poulson who finished the game 10-11 for 182 yards, including five touchdowns. That pair combined on four of Easton’s eight TDs, while running back Israel Selassie, who rushed for 268 yards, added two on the ground. The remaining TDs were scored by Jakob Herres and running back Harold Reynolds.

The breakdowns on defense were extremely damaging on a night where Easton’s offense was marching up and down the field, amassing 548 total yards.

“We were unorganized; we weren’t set,” said Gilbert. “We weren’t prepared. We had guys off the field when they should have been in to cover, and we didn’t have them on the field, and that’s on me.”

Whitehall’s ability to average 47 points per game is a testament to the strength of its offensive line, but on Friday, Easton dominated the line of scrimmage. While the O-line opened holes for Selassie and gave Poulson ample time to deliver the ball for 182 yards, it was their defense that made a big impact, especially in the running game, allowing a mere 73 yards on the ground.

“Nothing was there,” said Gilbert. “We couldn’t get movement like we normally do.”

To further underscore Easton’s vise grip on the game, they only had two negative plays all game, one during their first series of the game, and one on their final series of the game.

Even as Easton was scoring almost every time they had the ball in the first half, Whitehall crept closer on their final drive of the half when Shavar Hussett hauled in a 29-yard TD pass from Parvel to trim the lead to 14-28. That drive, which began after Easton scored with just 1:23 remaining in the second quarter, was set up by a big kickoff return by Negrete who took the ball to Easton’s 48-yard-line. Parvel kept the chains moving with a pass to Joe Herman, and Braxton Marrero chipped in with a big run that helped set up Hussett’s score that gave the Zephs some momentum heading into intermission.

But on their first series to start the third quarter, a penalty and a sack on third down forced them to punt the ball to Easton who promptly marched down the field, scoring on Olsen’s unfettered romp into the end zone.

When Parvel dropped back to pass, he was under duress on a lot of those snaps, resulting in a number of third down sacks that forced Whitehall to punt. Easton made of habit of getting penetration throughout the game, registering eight tackles for losses that helped tilt the field position in their favor.

Still, Parvel was able to complete 16 passes for 285 yards, including three touchdowns. Boykin was on the receiving end of seven of those passes for 103 yards, while Negrete (98 yards) had a pair of TD catches and Hussett (52 yards) had one.

But it was their lack of a running game that ultimately told the story of Friday’s game. They often found themselves in third and long situations, and weren’t able to sustain drives once the Easton pass rushers pinned back their ears and had a meeting at the quarterback.

Gilbert said that they had a great week of practice leading up to the game, but didn’t come ready to play against Easton.

Whitehall now prepares this week for the annual grudge match against Parkland and control of the Joe Gerencser Trophy.