In recent years Emmaus football has been known for its staunch defense while the offense has been more of a finesse unit.

Head coach Randy Cuthbert wants to make this a physical team on both sides of the ball.

"You have to be able to stop the run and you have to be able to run the ball," he said Monday night. "We are working on it right now and our guys are getting better. They are improving and it showed against Liberty. I think they are starting to buy into it."

A great time for this team to cash in on their purchase of that thought process is this Friday night as the Green Hornets (5-1 LVC, 5-2 overall) travel to Whitehall to take on the Zephyrs (5-1, 6-1) in a match up between two of the four Lehigh Valley Conference coleaders heading in to week eight.

Whitehall is coming off a 28-19 defeat of Central Catholic that was a lot closer than most expected. That contest included three touchdowns for star running back Saquon Barkley, as he brought his season total up to 17 rushing touchdowns.

Cuthbert had nothing but praise for this Zephyrs team, especially the backfield that includes Barkley, a Rutgers recruit, and Ryan Bonshak.

"They are very good and you know they are going to make plays," said Cuthbert. "We are going to try and limit the big plays and force them to drive the field."

Defensively, Whitehall runs a 3-5 stack formation primarily, but they mix-in some man-to-man coverage as well. They are not afraid to blitz.

"They are very sound overall and they are good up front," Cuthbert said.

In the biggest game so far this season for Emmaus, the Hornets could be without their top scorer in Wyl Miller, who had a touchdown in every game until last week when he was knocked out of the game in the first quarter after taking a hard hit.

Miller did not return to that game and Cuthbert is uncertain if he will return this Friday night.

As of Monday night, Cuthbert could only say with certainty that it is a head injury, but wouldn't specify its exact nature. Miller went to see a doctor for the second time Monday since last Friday's game and it looks to be a late-week decision as to his game status for this Friday night.

Offensively, Cuthbert believes his squad has an advantage as it is unique in the LVC due to its physical play and lack of spread formations. He hopes to capitalize on that as Whitehall does give up points. The Zephs have allowed 19, 27, and 21 in a few of their victories.

"We have to play our brand and we have to play four quarters," Cuthbert said. "They are real good. We need to play well on special teams. Defensively we need to eliminate the big plays as they have the quick-strike capability with big gainers. Offensively they want to hurry, hurry, hurry and we want to slow the ball down and keep their offense off the field."

Friday night at Zephyr Stadium is a statement game for Emmaus. The Green Hornets want to get their message across and show they belong with the elite of the LVC, it just may be a physical declaration.