It was just a little over a week ago that the Emmaus football team had hopes for a spot in the District 2-11 Class AAAA subregional tournament. But a disappointing 48-41 loss to Whitehall in week 9 seriously hurt those chances.

Heading into their season finale, the Green Hornets were looking to take any kind of momentum into the playoffs.

Rival Parkland did not do any favors as the Trojans were looking to help out their own playoff fate. They scored six touchdowns, three on the ground and three through the air, in taking down Emmaus 41-14 last Friday night at Emmaus high school.

"They're an excellent defensive team and on offense, their skill guys are deadly if you get them in space," said Emmaus head coach Randy Cuthbert. "We knew that was going to be a huge challenge for us and they were tough to tackle in the open field."

Parkland running back Nolan Ridgway ran for 108 yards on nine carries and two touchdowns. His first opened the scoring on the Trojans' first possession, setting a tone for the game. Both scores were on long runs of 35 and 58 yards.

It wasn't just the rushing attack that was working for the Trojans (8-2 overall, 6-2 EPC South). Quarterback Devante Cross picked apart the Green Hornet defense completing 12 of 17 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns. He divided the scoring to receivers Kenny Yeboah (7 catches for 122 yards), Jarey Elder (2 catches for 66 yards), and Gabe Clark (1 catch for 15 yards).

The Trojans held a 20-0 lead midway through the second quarter when Emmaus found some life. And it came from a likely source in running back back Andrew Davidson, who playing his senior night game.

Davidson had an 80-yard touchdown run and accumulated 170 yards on 21 carries by halftime. His score came with 3:51 to go in the first half. On the ensuing kickoff, the Green Hornets (5-5, 3-5 EPC South) went for an onside-kick, which Parkland recovered but fumbled away while trying to advance it.

Eight plays later, Davidson found the end zone from a yard out for his second score, and the Green Hornets cut the lead to 20-14 going into halftime.

Just as the momentum swung in favor of Emmaus, the Trojans took it right back.

Davidson, who seemed to have injured himself after the second quarter touchdown run, was held to only 26 yards the remainder of the game. Meanwhile, Parkland could not be stopped.

They outscored the Green Hornets 21-0 in the second half and scored its three touchdowns on just six plays. The Emmaus offense just couldn't find a rhythm in the second half.

"Carrying the ball 30 to 40 times a game, it adds up," said Cuthbert. "In the second half, he was definitely a little gassed. Playing every play on offense and defense against a physical, fast team is tough. He gave us everything he had, like the rest of the kids."

The Western Lehigh Exchange Club awards two athletes from each team, one on each side of the ball, as the MVP of the game.

Davidson took home the honors on offense, and senior Alex Minnich was voted Emmaus' defensive MVP.

Now for the fourth time in the last five years, Emmaus will play in the Eastern Conference playoffs. A showdown at Scranton awaits on Friday night.