Whitehall got a reminder about the old adage of playing for four quarters in their recent 38-31 victory over Emmaus.

The Zephyrs jumped out to a 24-7 lead at halftime, and the Green Hornets rallied with 24 second-half points to close the gap.

With their fifth-consecutive win, the Zephyrs improved to 6-1. They will travel to Allentown School District Stadium Friday night to meet Allen.

Head coach Andy Marino cited his team’s resiliency in a game that was nearly divided by halves.

“We started fast and hit a lull in the middle of the game,” said Marino. “We made plays at the end of the game to win. I’m proud of how the players responded and kept playing.”

Wide receiver Talon Dogmanits, who caught seven passes for 134 yards with a touchdown, is confident his team can piece it all together to reach another level.

“I think there are still things that we need to work on,” reflected Dogmanits. “Until we can have both our offense and defense doing their jobs at the same time for all four quarters, there are improvements to be made.

“It seems like when one side is doing the job the other is slacking and we need to be able to pick that up and improve upon that. Emmaus was a good team and they are a way bigger school than us, so it is always good beating them. I’m proud of the guys for not quitting when our big lead went away and fighting with very little time on the clock.”

Defensive end/tight end James Hopkins, who had three tackles and a sack, has been proud of his team’s consistent effort. He believes his team will continue to excel.

“The game was good, but there was a slight decline in the second half,” said Hopkins. “Emmaus took advantage of it. I feel that the defend really to a step up this week.

“Our team is at a god level, but we aren’t at our highest potential yet.”

ZEPHYR ZIPS: Dogmanits has caught 33 passes for 628 yards with nine touchdowns his season. Tanner, his younger brother, completed 12 of 16 passes for 196 yards with a touchdown. For the season, Dogmanits is 91 of 132 for 1,495 yards with 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions ... Hopkins has 24 tackles ... Braiyden Delvalle leads the team with 34 tackles, and Nolan Hudak has 26 stops ... Jeziah Gregory ran for 114 yards on 23 carries and scored four times against Emmaus. Gregory has rushed for 797 yards with 16 touchdowns ... Allen enters the game with an overall 3-4 record, but the Canaries have dropped four straight in which they have scored a total of 37 points. Allen is coming off a 33-6 lost to Allentown Central Catholic ... Whitehall shutout Allen 35-0 last season, and the Zephyrs have posted two shutouts in their prior two meetings (53-0 in 2023, and 37-0 in 2020) ... Allen quarterback Julian Pagan has thrown for 631 yards with seven touchdowns and four interceptions. Pagan also is the team’s leading rusher with 162 yards ... Zion Stokes has caught 12 passes for 173 yards for the Canaries.

PREDICTION (season record 5-1): Zephyrs’ win over Emmaus was huge, and they have shown plenty of grit during their winning streak. This is a game in which they have to strike early and take total control throughout. Whitehall can’t be caught looking ahead to Parkland next week, and they will finish with Central Catholic. Yet, Marino has had this team pretty locked and focused since the start. The development of Tanner Dogmanits and the determined running of Gregory have made a big difference ... Zephyrs look ready for the postseason, and Marino can have the honor of picking me up a cheesesteak from Seward’s on the way home ... ZEPHYRS, 48-0.