Whitehall High School - Whitehall Yearbook (Whitehall, PA)

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The defense again provided the offensive fire-power in a final 20-point fourth period blitz. Rick Fetherolf picked off a Huskie pass and charged 71 yards for a TD while Millen collected his second theft of the game and raced 44 yards to pay dirt. Mark Standorf scooped up a fumble in the Dieruff backfield and slipped over from two yards out to cap off the scoring. Pass interceptions again proved to be the deciding factor in a solid 27-8 triumph over Parkland. The gridders used four steals, two of which came in a 76-second span, to make Coach Gerencser’s return to Trojan territory memorable. Ziegcnfuss scored on runs of 15 and 31 yards while Cole scrambled 11 yards for one TD and threw a 32-yard pass to right end Steve Panik for another. The Zephyrs delighted a Parents’ Night crowd of over 5,000 fans with an impressive 24-8 win over Liberty that stressed the squad's winning theme — togetherness. “It was definitely a team effort,” said squad captains Bruce Rarig and Panik, we stick together. The gridders got off to a quick start with a 62-yard first quarter drive that ended with Joe Gerencscr Jr. covering the final yard up the middle and Cole rushing for the first of his conversions. After a Hurricane TD and an exchange of safeties, the Zephs held a slim 10-8 halftime lead before breaking the game open with two second half touchdowns. Ed Podorsky tallied on a three-yard blast while Rarig scooped up a fumble and rambled 26 yards for the other score and his first touchdown ever during his three years of varsity ball. The defensive line of Dave Kratzer, Standorf, Jerry Sukanick. Ernie Ruch, and Rarig was very effective against Liberty, holding the Hurricane to a -13 yards rushing. Coach Gerencscr picked up his 100th career win at the hands of his high school alma mater when his “Zephyr Machine completely tore apart Northampton 55-6 to gain its second straight continued trs The Zephs completely tore apart the Canaries of the 390 yards gamed on the ground and added 55-7 for their fifth straight win. Ziegenfuss. a key two touchdown runs of two and four yards figure in Whitehall’s offensive attack, picked up 119 Caught from behind by Liberty's Kev in Cousins is Ed Podorsky Although Podorsky made a first down, a penally was called against the gridders. 27

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FOOTBALL continued over the middle for a 77-yard touchdown pass. Still down by a point, the gridders went for the win but failed to execute the two-point conversion. Whitehall's defense hung tough and forced P-Burg to punt on its next possession. Cole then executed a 70-yard drive that ended with halfback Paul Ziegenfuss scoring from six inches out with only 23 seconds remaining in the game. Termed the “Super Bowl of the 1976 Lehigh Valley season, the Dieruff clash, between the conference’s two most evenly balanced teams set out to prove who was really No. 1. The Huskies, rumored to be the best team in the area at the start of the season, admirably lived up to their billing by coming into the Whitehall showdown with five consecutive shutouts in their pocket. But the Zephyr defense showed it could work both ways and turned five Dieruff errors into as many scores to prove the difference in a solid 33-0 thrashing of the Huskies. The gridders rallied from a slow start and brought the nearly 10,000 Homecoming Game fans to their feet with two quick scores just before the half. Andy Millen’s first interception of the game set up a one-yard scamper by Ed Podorsky while Bob Hetz’s fumble recovery resulted in a one-yard dive by fullback Joe Gerencser Jr. VARSITY WHITEHALL OPPONENTS 19 Lehighton 3 29 Bethlehem Catholic 7 55 Northampton 6 24 Liberty 8 55 William Allen 7 27 Parkland 8 33 Dieruff 0 55 Central Catholic 3 13 Phillipsburg 7 21 Emmaus Won 10 Lost 0 14 Placekicker Phil Nemeth warms up his valuable fool Defensive tackle Bob Helz struggles to throw off With no where to go but straight ahead, running back during pre-game activities. Nemeth booted 24 extra the block of his Emmaus opponent. Hell pre- Paul Ziegenfuss puts his head down and charges points, second best in the area viously played football in Germany onward despite the pursuing William Allen defend-

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FOOTBALL continued Cement Bowl trophy. Cole threw two TD aerials to Panik from 43 and 33 yards out while Millen connected with Bob Fischer for an 18-yard strike. In recognition of coach Gerencser’s feat, the cheerleaders, with the help of the Gerencser family. threw a party for the team at the Whitehall field house following the game. The ravenous gridders consumed 200 hotdogs and three cakes with Panik earning the title of the biggest appetite” by gobbling 10 frankfurters. More dinners were to come as the Zephyrs were hailed at a banquet arranged by Harold Mickley and Jim Osmun of the City Vu Diner and a testimonial dinner sponsored by avid Whitehall citizens. Already having won the EPC crown, Whitehall’s 21-14 come-from-behind Turkey Day win over Emmaus was just icing on the cake. Evening the rival series at 23-23-2, the Zcphs wound up their second undefeated season in four years, while extending their two-year win streak to 16 before a Thanksgiving crowd of nearly 10,000 fans. Using a strong third quarter rally, the gridders overcame the Hornets’ early lead and staked their claim as the No. 1 team in the area. Tackled by an unidentified flying Emmaus Hornet is halfback Ed Podorsky. Below: Bob Cole 12) hands off the ball to Paul Ziegenfuss 140). who finds himself the subject of another shutter bug. as the Zephyr offensive line moved out to block the oncoming opponents. Proudly displaying their Turkey Day trophies are outstanding players ' Jerry Sukanick and Paul Ziegenfuss. and coach Joe Gerencser.