It was a gadget play that worked and after it did, it looked like for all the world Emmaus would find a way to beat Easton.

The stunt was well-conceived and well-executed. A reverse receiver screen pass from Tyson Karrat to running back Jared Groller, which covered 49 yards and resulted in a touchdown and a 13-3 Emmaus lead in the third quarter.

It was a good-looking play, but the problem was the Rovers weren’t ready to roll over and let the Hornets take over. Instead they rallied to score the game’s final 14 points to pull out a 17-13 win last Friday night at East Penn School District Stadium.

The loss dropped Emmaus to 7-2 in the league and overall, while Easton improved to 5-2 in the EPC and overall.

The showdown between these two EPC South schools provided fundamentally sound and entertaining football. While Emmaus missed their chance to bury Easton with their 10-point lead, it’s worth mentioning the Rover defense outplayed the Hornet offense. That proved to be the difference. After scoring at least 35 points in the last four games, Emmaus struggled to move the ball and that’s because they struggled to control the line of scrimmage.

In the first quarter the Rover defense recovered an Emmaus fumble to end a promising drive and the period ended scoreless. In the second stanza, Easton broke on top 3-0 courtesy of a 30-yard Austin Martellucci field goal. However, the Hornets put together their own scoring drive, which culminated when Josiah Williams hit Karrat for a 19-yard TD pass and a 6-3 lead.

Williams stood tall in the face of an Easton blitz, stepped up in his deteriorating pass pocket and fired a strike to Karrat for a beautiful score. That’s where it stayed when the extra point was not converted. Easton then engineered a late drive in the half’s final minutes, but came up empty when a Martellucci field goal attempt sailed just wide right.

After Emmaus took the 13-3 lead in the third, Easton quarterback Cole Transue led the charge back. Receiver Nino Rizzolino grasped a 29-yard touchdown pass from Transue to close to 13-10. In the fourth quarter, receiver Kyle Evancho redeemed himself after a case of the butter fingers earlier and caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from Transue for what proved to be the game-winner.

Offensively the Hornets did not play a bad game, but they were outgained 339-to-285 yards and 16-to-11 in first downs. Their third down conversation percentage was below their average (3-for-9) and Williams was 8-for-18 for 124 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The Hornets committed two turnovers, while Easton had none.

Defensively Emmaus played hard and did a respectable job keeping the Rover offense mostly in check. While Transue did not have a spectacular game, he made the big plays and made no mistakes, completing 9-of-20 passes for 211 yards with two touchdowns with no interceptions. More important, he played his best in crunch time. This forced Emmaus to beat Easton, instead of Easton beating themselves. Aidan Garrett, Ryan DeJohn and Trevor Gitski all played well for the Hornet defense, but it wasn’t enough.