When the Hornets had all their starters on the field and were playing mistake-free football, they were clearly as good, if not better than Pennridge in a very evenly-matched season opener.

But when they committed penalties or had players leave the field with cramps, it was just enough to tip the scales toward the Rams.

After building a 15-point lead in the first half and holding onto that margin into the fourth quarter, Emmaus saw it's entire lead slip away over the final 6:34.

Pennridge tied the game with no time left on the clock and won on its first offensive play of overtime, 33-27.

"Our kids battled," said Emmaus head coach Randy Cuthbert. "But in the end we had several chances to put it away and we didn't. That's what we need to learn how to do. We've got to finish that game out.

"You hope that you don't have to lose a game to learn something. This is going to hurt for the weekend. Then we'll go back to work on Monday and go from there."

The Hornets built a 27-12 lead in the first half, but only one of their four touchdowns came on offense. Two were scored on Kyzir White interception returns and another came on a Will Miller kick-off return.

Emmaus' only offensive touchdown came on White's 5-yard touchdown reception.

When White started to cramp late in the second half on the humid Friday night in Perkasie, the Emmaus offense stalled.

"I don't want to make excuses," said Cuthbert. "But, obviously Kazir is a big-play guy and when he's in there the secondary has got to pay a lot of attention to him. When he went out it kind of changed the offense a little bit. He's a special player. He's a difference maker. He's probably the most talented kid I've had."

Emmaus first three possessions of the second half produced no first downs and negative yardage (-3 yards, which includes a 10-yard penalty).

But the Hornet defense kept Pennridge out of the end zone on both of its first two second-half possessions.

When Emmaus' defense made a goal-line stand late in the third quarter it seemed like it might be enough to allow the Hornets to hold on for the win.

But after taking over on downs at the 4-yard line, the Hornets couldn't move the ball away from their own goal line and punted from the 3-yard line.

"Offensively, we were continually in bad spots in the second half," said Cuthbert. "We had a penalty here and a penalty there. That got us out of the stuff that we wanted to do."

Pennridge took over at the Hornets' 30-yard line and finally was able to wrest some momentum toward its side.

The Rams needed eight plays to reach paydirt and close the gap to 27-19 with 6:34 left in the game.

Emmaus moved the ball on its next possession, earning a first down on Tom Bisko's 15-yard pass reception from quarterback Brad Foltz. But three penalties on the next six plays resulted in a punt.

The game seemed all but sealed once again when Emmaus' Hasan Sharif picked off a Matt Pasquale pass, giving the Hornets' the ball back at the Rams' 45-yard line with just 3:37 left in the game.

After losing three yards on three plays, Emmaus' Miller dropped back to punt on fourth and 13 from the Pennrigde 47-yard line.

Miller, another talented play maker who had a 99-yard kick off return earlier in the game, bobbled the snap and didn't get off the punt. But he scrambled down the sideline and made it 55 yards to the end zone for what seemed like the final straw that would break the Rams' back.

A penalty flag for a questionable clipping call negated the play. It was one of seven Emmaus penalties in the game.

Pennridge got the ball back and needed 13 plays to get into the end zone. A two-point conversion with no time on the clock sent the game to overtime.

In overtime, the Hornets got the ball first and failed to score. The Rams' Mike Class went in on his first carry to end the game.

Class, a 2,000-yard rusher last season, was limited to 30 yards rushing the first half and just 71 for the first four quarters. But Emmaus had trouble keeping Class covered on pass routes as nine receptions netted the Ram senior 119 yards.

Cuthbert, who coached Pennridge to its best season in school history last year, was not surprised by the fight his former team showed on opening night.

"I know these guys," he said. "They're very good and they're not going to give up."

Emmaus took the early lead when White picked off a first-down pass from Pasquale and took it 55 yards for the score to make it 7-0 with 7:08 left in the first quarter.

Pennridge answered on its fourth possession of the night. A 35-yard catch by Class put the Rams at the Emmaus 20-yard line. A 17-yard pass from Pasquale to Micah Stutzman made it 7-6 early in the second quarter.

The Hornets' pushed their lead up to 14-6 on an 11-play, 65-yard drive capped by White's five-yard touchdown catch.

When Pennridge responded with a three-play drive that included a 53-yard touchdown reception by Class to make it 14-12, the Hornets grabbed momentum right back.

Miller picked up the ensuing kick off just in front of the goal line before starting up field. The 5-foot-9, 160-pound junior burst through a hole in the middle of the field then found the left sideline. He cut back behind a blocker inside the Rams' 20-yard line and scampered into the end zone to give his team a 20-12 lead with 3:22 left in the first half.

Emmaus pushed the lead to 27-12 when White picked off another pass, this time he made the interception near midfield and took it back 42 yards for the score.

Although the Hornets kept the Rams from grabbing momentum for most of the second half, the final seven minutes of regulation and the brief overtime provided enough time for Pennridge to flip the script and pick up the win.

"We had opportunities in all three phases of the game to put it away and we didn't," said Cuthbert. "That's on us. We've got to move on. It's a long season."