This season started out with some unknowns for Emmaus football.

Last week it came to a definitive end.

The 2013 season came to a close for the Green Hornets last Friday night as Delaware Valley defeated Emmaus 19-18 in the Eastern Conference playoffs at East Penn School District Stadium.

The Hornets (6-5) got on the board first with a one-yard rush by junior Wyl Miller (15 carries for 97 yards; three catches for five yards) that capped off an eight-play drive highlighted by a 32-yard scamper by Miller. A missed extra point by senior Hunter Kushy left the score at 6-0 with 3:49 left in the opening quarter.

Delaware Valley (6-5) held the Hornets deep in their own territory and took advantage of the good field position after a 22-yard punt. Starting at Emmaus' 42 the Warriors drive stalled on the 36, but a successful fake punt by Jesse Feiss moved the ball 33 yards kept the drive alive. Lex Rosario (35 carries, 104 yards; 3 catches, 10 yards) scored from three yards out to make it 7-6 with 10:24 left in the second quarter.

"We were worried about their size," said Emmaus head coach Randy Cuthbert. "They have a lot of size up front, which we thought would give us some problems. We did some things well, but I think it was sloppy. It seemed like we had a lot of penalties. It was just missed opportunities. It was just the way the whole game was. We were just digging out of a hole that we kept putting ourselves in."

Emmaus' next drive was moving courtesy of rushes from Andrew Davidson (12 carries, 91 yards), but it came to an abrupt end as Delaware Valley's Colin Irwin intercepted a Logan Kober pass. Th Emmaus junior tried to pitch the ball away while being brought down, but instead Irwin took it 28 yards to make it 13-6 in favor of the Warriors with 8:05 left before halftime.

The Hornets came back with a scoring drive that ended with a 22-yard rushing score from Miller, his 11th of the season. Kushy's extra point attempt was blocked, which left the Hornets trailing 13-12 at half.

Delaware Valley's Rosario found the end zone on the Warriors' first drive of the second half as the junior ran it in from three yards out to make it 19-12. Davidson blocked the extra point with 6:31 left in the third quarter.

After exchanging punts on their next drives, Emmaus needed only one play to score as Miller broke an 80-yard rush down the left sideline to pull the Hornets to within one.

The Hornets decided to go for two and the lead. Set up for an extra point, they checked out of it and put holder and backup quarterback, senior Brad Foltz, in the shotgun to receive the snap. Foltz took it and ran to the right searching for the pylon, but was stuffed about two yards short.

"We were not going to get an extra point off because of their size up front," said Cuthbert. "Every extra point, the blocked one, and the one they didn't block, they had three of their big guys busting through. We talked about it at halftime that we would either fake it or go straight for two because we were going to get it blocked."

In their last two opportunities to score the Hornets drove the ball, but couldn't produce any points due to their struggling passing game and a Warrior interception late sealed the game for Delaware Valley.

"There were a lot of ups and downs," Cuthbert said of his first year at Emmaus. "I loved it though. I really enjoyed coaching these guys. We have great kids. They have a really good work ethic and we learned a lot as the year went on and we did a lot of good things as we were competing for a title late into the season."

Senior Kyzir White, with a tear rolling down his face, talked about his career at Emmaus.

"It has been great," White said. "I don't think I can explain it. I wouldn't change it for anything. I love these guys."

"I didn't get to spend a long time with them, but they definitely made an impact on me," Cuthbert said of the seniors. "I really like the kids we have. I think they did a lot of great things. They faced a lot of adversity and they kept coming back.

"It is a lot of great memories and looking back you are going to remember more of the guys and less of the games. We spend a lot of time together and then suddenly it is over."