With the game still in balance in the fourth quarter, the Emmaus High School football team pulled away late with its highest scoring quarter of the game and defeated Whitehall 31-7 last Friday night in an Eastern Pennsylvania Conference matchup at East Penn School District Stadium.

It was the second straight victory for the Green Hornets (5-2 overall, 3-1 EPC).

“As a whole it was a really good team effort,” said Hornet head coach Harold Fairclough. “We got off to a slow start and shot ourselves in the foot a few times to stall drives on offense. Defensively we gave up a couple plays that hurt us, but we made some key stops on third down to get us off the field.

“Special teams wise, we are playing better. Will Buck got us off to a good start with a 44-yard FG. He also had 4 out of 6 kickoffs for touchbacks. He also added a 70-yard put that flipped the field for us at a critical point in the game.”

Buck connected on a 44-yard field goal to get the scoring going in the first quarter.

The Hornets scored their first touchdown of the game in the second quarter and held a 10-0 advantage at halftime.

The Zephyrs (2-5, 2-2) pulled to within just three points before Emmaus added another touchdown in the third and the score was 17-7 heading into the final frame. Two late EHS touchdowns put the game out of reach.

Reilly Bechtel finished with 128 yards on 16 carries and had two touchdowns. Jerek Cooper was 11-of-15 for 120 yards and a score through the air. Kai Jefferson-Rushing recorded a 16-yard touchdown run and also caught a touchdown pass.

Bechtel tallied five tackles and two sacks. Robert Edwards finished with nine tackles, one tackle for loss and a sack. Chase Whitesell had five tackles, one tackle for loss and a sack.

“I believe we are practicing better and with more consistency all round,” Fairclough said. “We are more focused, and we are paying more attention to detail, which has been the difference in games.

“I believe we are playing better in the red zone. Offensively we are finishing drives when we get down there. Red zone efficiency is one of our weekly goals and we have been hitting the mark as of late.”

Emmaus has back-to-back road games at J. Birney Crum Stadium over the next two weekends. It will first take on Dieruff this Friday night, followed by a game against Allen the following Friday night. The Hornets finish the season hosting Parkland on Oc.t 25.

Fairclough has a few things he wants to see out of his group with the final few weeks of the regular season ending.

“I would like to see us continue to execute in the red zone,” said Fairclough. “Defensively, we need to continue being stingy and not allowing any points. We also need to continue creating turnovers.”