The Emmaus football team endured a grueling one-point loss at Easton two weeks ago and were looking to get back on a winning streak, and to end a two-game slide.

The Green Hornets sent a message with a 35-14 win at home against Northampton last week, a win they can now build upon with four games left in the regular season.

"It was important for us to get a win because we had two tough losses," said head coach Joe Bottiglieri. "After three good games the first three, we lost two in a row and our players were really looking to get onto the field Friday night against Northampton and get back on track. They practiced hard and did a nice job."

Andrew Kerson threw for three touchdowns and Wyl Miller added two rushing scores for the Green Hornets. Kerson seemed to have found his groove in just the right time, when each game is magnified.

"Andrew stepped it up," said Bottiglieri. "He was disappointed with the way he played in the Easton game. He felt that he could've done more. He worked really hard during the week and focused on some specific reads the coaches were telling him to make. He did a great job all around executing the offense. He needs to build on this and keep going."

Liberty (0-6, 0-5) is still searching for its first win. The Hurricanes are coming off a 42-21 loss to Central Catholic. Bottiglieri knows they have talent, are hungry and can't be taken lightly.

"They have a lot of talent," said Bottiglieri. "They have two of the best athletes in the Lehigh Valley in [wide receivers] Boise Ross and K.J. Williams. Their quarterback [Derek Byrd] is coming along and getting better every game. They're big up front on both sides of the ball. I told the team that a team that has no wins is going to do everything they can to get a win. So we need to be at the top of our game and traditionally we've struggled with Liberty. To go on the road to get a big win is going to be tough. It's going to be a battle."

With three of the top four LVC teams - Whitehall, Nazareth, and Parkland - to come, this may be a must win for Emmaus (4-2, 3-2) to get a playoff berth.

"At this point in the season, when you're going into your seventh game, every game is like a playoff game," Bottiglieri said. "You need to win and a loss really hurts at this point in the season. We need to get a win and get a winning streak under our belts and get some momentum heading into the final three games. We just need to take it one at a time."

Bottiglieri added that the key offensively for this game will be establishing the run to open up the passing game. A system that the Green Hornets have been using all season, and one that, besides one hiccup, has been working successfully.