The Emmaus football team was looking to qualify for districts for the first time since 2008 with a victory over Parkland in last week's season finale.

The Green Hornets will have to try again next season.

Emmaus (6-3 in LVC, 6-4 overall) came up just short to Parkland, 37-30 last Friday night at Parkland Football Stadium as the Trojans (8-1, 9-1) took the game and a share of the Lehigh Valley Conference title as Whitehall finished with an identical record.

"I'm proud of our kids," said head coach Randy Cuthbert as Parkland players celebrated around him. "I love our kids. They battle all the way to the end. We made some mistakes. Offensively, when we get into long yardage situations we don't do well and that happened a lot. Give credit to their guys. Their quarterback [Devante Cross] had a real big game."

Cross, a sophomore, torched the Green Hornets for 146 yards on the ground with three scores to go with his 4-for-10 passing for 33 yards.

He got the Trojans on the board first with a 12-yard run up the middle to make it 7-0 with 9:27 left in the first quarter. Emmaus answered on itsr next drive with a one-yard run by Andrew Davidson, his 10th touchdown of the season.

Emmaus' next drive was halted as Nick Zambelli intercepted a Logan Kober pass which Parkland took advantage of as Eli Redmond (four carries, 29 yards, one touchdown; three catches, 18 yards) punched it in from one yard out to make it 14-7 with 2:44 left in the first quarter.

The Hornets answered again. Wyl Miller, who amassed 110 yards rushing on 21 carries, took it in from two yards out and Kober converted the two-point conversion for a 15-14 lead with 10:54 left in the first half.

Parkland scored once more courtesy of a Redmond 25-yard scamper to make it 20-15 Trojans heading in to the locker room.

With Parkland starting eight of its 13 drives in Emmaus territory due to great kick returns, Cuthbert gave his defensive unit credit for accomplishing what it did with a short field.

"Our kids battle," he said. "We had them in tough spots and they kept battling. Throughout the year they were in tough spots and no one put their heads down. These kids are fighters and they kept working."

Special teams also stepped up as Kyzir White blocked a Jake Bissel punt on Parkland's 25-yard line. The ball rolled into the end zone and was recovered for a touchdown by Kyle Boney. After a successful two-point conversion pass from Kober to Chris Schiermeyer, Emmaus led 23-20 with 9:47 left in the third.

Another rushing touchdown by Cross put Parkland back on top 26-23 after a failed two-point conversion and the Trojans never looked back as a 32-yard field goal by Bissel made it 29-23 after three quarters.

Despite the loss, Cuthbert is proud to be coaching this team.

"Nothing we do surprises me," he said. "We have great kids and our greatest asset is our kids. They never give up and we have tried to develop that attitude throughout the year. They have done a great job in spots and I never doubt that they will keep battling all the way to the end."

Down 37-23, Davidson (13 carries, 76 yards, two touchdowns) broke a 36-yard run to pull within seven with 2:08 remaining.

Parkland, just trying to run out the clock, fumbled and Schiermeyer recovered on the Trojans' 37-yard line, giving Emmaus one last chance. With no timeouts remaining, Kober (2-for-9 for seven yards with one interception) was sacked and threw three straight incompletions to turn the ball over on downs.

"Give them credit, they are an excellent team," said Cuthbert. "Our guys fought hard, but in the end we just came up a little short."

Despite the loss, the Green Hornets secured the top seed in the Class AAAA Eastern Conference playoffs and the Hornets are focused on winning their two playoff games.

"It is tough when you lose the last one, but we are playing somebody next week and we want to win," said Cuthbert. "This is a tough one, but we are going to come back and be ready to work."