Northampton at Whitehall

"Cement Bowl"

Sept. 8, 2006

Zephyrs win Cement Bowl in Overtime, 27-26

Whitehall and Northampton, 2 schools known for making cement, faced each other for the first time in 2 years. Last time these teams met was in September 2002, in which Whitehall won that one as well 27-7.

The Zephyrs pulled this game out as well, beating the Konkrete Kids 27-26 in overtime, thanks to a missed extra point. Whiteall scored first in overtime, with a Nicholas Andrews 6 yard pass from Greg Pammer. Joel Dommel's kick gave Whitehall the 27-20 lead with Northampton's 1st overtime possession coming up. Northampton knew they had to score a touchdown to even it up with Whitehall to keep the game going. Well, Northampton did score a touchdown. A Mike Wechsler 6 yard touchdown run made it 27-26. But a missed FG won the game for the Zephyrs.

Northampton scored first in the game, at 10:36 with a 45 yard touchdown run by Kevin Kowalishen, who had 116 yards rushing on the night. Nick Metzger's kick made it 7-0 Northampton. But on the ensuing kickoff, Whitehall responded with a touchdown of their own with a 90 yard kickoff return for Matthew Hamscher. A Joel Dommel kick tied the game at 7 a piece.

The scoring wasn't done in the 1st stanza. With 3:09 left, Northampton's received Jameel Seymour caught a 27 yard pass from Ryan Mickley. Metzger kick made it 14-7 to cap the first quarter.

Another special teams play for the Zephyrs tied the game up in the 2nd quarter. Greg Pammer blocked a Northampton punt and Nathan Reitz ran it 10 yards for the touchdown. Whitehall took over the lead in the game with 1:56 left in the half. Jacob Millen threw a pass to Travis Artim, for 35 yards. The kick was wide, making the score 20-14.

Northampton started the 4th quarter scoring with 5:52 left, Kowalishen's second touchdown of the day, a 27 yard touchdown run tieing the game at 20-20. Northampton outrushed Whitehall 280-19 yards and in first downs 17-7 but in the end, it was Northampton's special team's miscues that Whitehall took advantage of, to win this year's Cement Bowl trophy.

Northampton (1-1) hosts Emmaus (1-1), next week, while Whitehall (1-1) travels to District 11 reigning champ, Liberty (2-0). Both games are Lehigh Valley Conference action.

Game Summary

1st Quarter

10:36  - N - Kevin Kowalishen 45 yard TD run (Nick Metzger kick)

10:19 - W - Matthew Hamscher 90 yard kickoff return (Joel Dommel kick)

3:09 - N - Jameel Seymour 27 yard TD reception from Ryan Mickley (Metzger kick)

2nd Quarter

10:20 - W - Nathan Reitz 10 yard block punt return for touchdown

1:56 - W - Travis Artim 35 yard TD reception from Jacob Millen (XP no good)

4th Quarter

5:52 - Kowalishen 27 yard TD run. (run failed).

Overtime

Whitehall 1st possession

Nicholas Andrew 6 yard TD reception from Greg Pammer (Dommel kick)

Northampton 1st possession

Mike Wechsler 6 yard TD run (XP no good)

NOTES:

Whitehall scores on 2 Northampton special team miscues

Northampton outgained Whitehall 340-123

Northampton had 17 first downs. Whitehall 7.