Emmaus scored 23 unanswered points and then weathered a comeback to beat rival Parkland in an entertaining regular season finale 40-25 last Friday night at East Penn School District Stadium. In the process, the Hornets earned the Cedar Crest Cup and the number one seed in the upcoming district playoffs.

Tied going into the second quarter at 7-7, the Green Hornets (9-1, 9-1 EPC) stepped on the gas with their top three scorers - Jake Fotta, Dylan Darville and Tylik Jarvis - all scoring touchdowns for a seemingly insurmountable 30-7 halftime lead.

Fotta had another typical fine game, leading the Emmaus offense to 473 yards in total offense. The senior signal caller went 8-for-19 for 141 yards through the air and connected with Darville on a nifty 65-yard touchdown pass for a 7-0 lead in the first period. He also ran for two touchdowns, the second putting the game away on an electrifying 43-yarder off the left side for the final score.

Just as important, Fotta made few mistakes and did not throw an interception. In close games the team that makes the less mistakes has a better chance of winning and last Friday night Emmaus made fewer mistakes than Parkland.

Darville is a video highlight waiting to happen. Some may be as good as Darville in the EPC, but no one is better for making big plays. He likely turned the game in Emmaus’ favor on defense when he returned an interception 65 yards for a touchdown and a 21-7 lead.

On the play, Parkland quarterback Luke Spang was under pressure and abandoned the pocket by rolling right. Looking to make something happen and trying to avoid a loss, he forced an errant pass. Darville jumped the play, made the catch and sprinted down the sideline for the score. The pick six was a momentum changer and one from which Parkland never recovered.

Darville caught six passes for 131 yards and in addition to his defensive excellence, had nice returns on special teams.

Then there is Jarvis, who ran like a man out to prove something. He ran for an even 100 yards on 18 carries and one touchdown. On most plays he put pressure on the Parkland defensive line and linebackers, demanding respect and forcing them to not focus solely on the explosive Emmaus passing attack.

In that 23-point streak in the second quarter, Emmaus got a gift two points when Parkland’s backup center orbited a snap well over punter Gryffin Mitstifer’s head. The play resulted in a safety for the Hornets.

But Parkland (6-4, 6-4 EPC) did not quit when to going got tough. Coach Tim Moncman’s squad stormed back in the second half.

After Marquez Wimberly’s kickoff return touchdown to open the second half was nullified thanks to a fight between a Parkland player and Emmaus player, the Trojans scored when Spang found wide receiver Nakhi Bullock for a 61-yard TD pass. Bullock was wide open as Emmaus’ defense blew an assignment. Later in the contest, Parkland surprised the Hornets’ kickoff return team with a successful onside kick.

Emmaus also had problems with the Parkland passing game. Spang had a great statistical night, hitting 20 of 32 passes for 305 yards and three touchdowns, although he did throw two interceptions.

Time and again Parkland made consistently good yardage when running back Ty Tremba would drift out of the backfield and Spang would hit him usually with no Emmaus defender around. For the evening, Tremba caught 10 passes for 95 yards and one touchdown. Receiver Jack Harrison had also a big night, grabbing five balls for 114 yards and an awesome one-handed catch for a 17-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

But overall Emmaus outplayed Parkland and deserved to win this game.

“I’m proud of them for not wavering,” Emmaus coach Harold Fairclough said of his team in withstanding Parkland’s comeback. “Parkland is a good program and they’re well coached. But our kids didn’t fold, they didn’t waiver. They played hard and we made some timely plays ourselves to close things out in the second half.”

This is the best Emmaus team Fairclough has coached and that’s because this year’s offensive and defensive lines are improved. Emmaus has a litany of skill talent - Jake Fotta, Darville, Jarvis, along with valuable contributions from Josiah Williams, Chase Fotta and Rafeal Torrero. But they’ve had that before. This year seemingly they have it all.