It was just one loss. It came against a very good team. There's no reason for Emmaus fans to panic.

"No one's jumping off a bridge yet," said Hornet head coach Randy Cuthbert. "Easton is one of the top teams in the state. It's a long season."

Coming off a 35-7 loss to the Red Rovers, Emmaus takes on a Freedom team that beat Nazareth 67-34 last week and brings a 2-0 record into Friday night's game.

The Patriots run a balanced offense with sophomore quarterback Joe Young running the show. He completed 10 of 11 passes for 161 yard and two touchdowns last week. He also rushed for 59 and a score.

"Their quarterback can run and throw," said Cuthbert. "He's a dual threat. They do a lot with the shotgun and read options. They have a big line and they can try to spread you out. They've done well the first two weeks."

Young's favorite target is his brother, Jake, a senior who caught five passes for 70 yards against Nazareth.

The Patriots won their opening game, 35-7 over East Stroudsburg South.

They will confront Emmaus with a 3-5 stack defense that likes to blitz.

The Hornets have run the ball well this season, but they'll need to show more ability to throw if they want to keep defenses honest.

"We've worked on our passing game a lot," said Cuthbert. "Our passing game has to improve or we're going to start seeing goal-line defenses at midfield."

Last week quarterback Logan Kober completed his first two throws, but went 3-for-9 with an interception the rest of the way. Cuthbert pointed out that it's not all his quarterbacks fault. Missed blocking assignments and other mistakes have also played a role.

Until the passing game is more effective, teams will key on stopping Emmaus running backs Wyl Miller and Andrew Davidson, who each have one 100-yard game this season.