It was a second-half display that gave Liberty and Emmaus coaches opposite reactions following last Friday night's 42-33 victory by the Hurricanes at Frank Banko Field.

Emmaus (2-3) saw a 27-14 lead with 9:53 left in the third quarter evaporate over the next 22 minutes en route to stifling defeat, but a joyous victory for the Hurricanes (3-2).

For Emmaus head coach Randy Cuthbert, the result was frustrating as they come when you're holding a second half lead.

"I think at times we played really well and then at other moments we completely shot ourselves in the foot," said Cuthbert. "It's frustrating because the kids fought hard, but there were too many mental mistakes that killed us."

A back-and-forth third quarter saw Liberty seize the lead three minutes after Wyl Miller's 66-yard touchdown run put his team up by nearly two scores, as Ryan Lawrence scored his second of three touchdowns on the night with 56 yard score, followed by a 34-yard touchdown pass from 'Canes quarterback Doug Erney to Darius Jones to put Liberty ahead 28-27 following the converted extra point with 6:06 left in the third.

Emmaus would get its final taste of the end zone on the ensuing drive, when Kyle Boney rushed for an 18-yard score with 3:43 to make it 33-28 after a failed two-point conversion.

That's when Liberty took over, as Erney rushed from eight yards out just before the end of the third quarter for the go-ahead touchdown with 1:45 left in the period to grab a 35-33 lead they wouldn't relinquish.

With the Hurricanes defense clamping down on the Emmaus offense in the fourth quarter, the Green Hornets found themselves pinned at their own three-yard line with 4:25 left in the game.

The Hurricanes, who stopped the Hornets on four out of their final five drives, stripped Andrew Davidson on a run and took possession after Justin Soimes recovered the football.

Lawrence, who ran for a season-high 115 yards, would cap off the night with a one-yard touchdown scamper with 3:35 left in the game to essentially put the nail in the coffin with a nine-point advantage.

"Our guys could have packed it in after going down by two touchdowns in the second half, but they fought back," said Liberty head coach John Truby. "The difference between this week and the Whitehall loss was that we didn't quit. We did a nice job making adjustments in the second half and our coaches did a great job too. It's a great win for us heading into Parkland."

Doug Erney was 20-for-31 for 244 yards and touchdown, to go along with his 24 yards rushing and one touchdown. On the other side, Emmaus's passing game continues to struggle, as Logan Kober was 6-of-14 for 77 yards.

Wyl Miller ran for 128 yards and three touchdowns for the Hornets, as Davidson also chipped in 129 yards for Emmaus, who rushed for 300 yards on the night.

Getting that type of effort from the ground game and still coming away with a defeat is a difficult reality for Cuthbert and company.

"There's times when we execute very well and then there's times we don't execute at all," he said. "If you can't be consistent in this league, you're going to have a lot of up and down stuff. We just can't make mental errors at key times."