The Emmaus High School football team has seemingly seen to rival Parkland win the Battle for the Cedar Crest Boulevard Trophy several times over the last decade-plus.

But the 2024 edition of the Hornets rewrote the script of the rivalry with a dominant 27-0 shutout victory over the Trojans last Friday night at East Penn School District Stadium.

The win allowed Emmaus (8-2 overall, 6-1 EPC) to claim its first Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Lehigh Division championship and to head into the District 11 6A Tournament, which begins this weekend, with a ton of positive momentum riding a five-game win streak.

The shutout was also the first shutout since the second game of the 2013 season for the Trojans, 147 straight games where they scored some type of points.

“It was a great team win,” said head coach Harold Fairclough. “We made big plays in all three phases of the game. It’s great anytime you can beat a rival when a championship is on the line.”

The Emmaus defense takes much of the credit for the win. A Trojan offense that was averaging 40 points per game and almost 350 yards of total offense was kept off the scoreboard and limited to just 120 total yards (95 pass/25 rush) in the game.

The Hornets also forced three turnovers, including a 35-yard interception for a touchdown by Cole Moreau in the third quarter that gave Emmaus a 17-0 advantage.

Will Buck got the scoring going with a 35-yard field goal with 5:55 left in the opening quarter. Jerek Cooper then rushed for a 23-yard touchdown on the Hornets’ next possession to make it 10-0 late in the first quarter.

The Trojans (8-2, 6-1) threatened late in the second quarter, but Zachary Stephens picked off Osmany Guzman for the first interception of the night to send the teams into the locker rooms with the 10-0 score.

Ahead 17-0, the Hornets then stopped the Trojans on a fourth-and-one play. Buck then converted a 26-yard field goal on the ensuing possession. Reilly Bechtel capped the scoring with a six-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter.

Cooper had 13 carries for 54 yards and a touchdown, while Bechtel ran 13 times for 92 yards and a score. Neo Michel finished with six total tackles, including one tackle for loss and recovered a fumble. Ben Dennis led the defense with eight total tackles.

Emmaus earned the four seed in the District 11 Class 6A playoffs. The Hornets will host five seed Nazareth (7-3, 4-3) on Friday night back at East Penn School District Stadium.

The Blue Eagles and Hornets did not meet during the regular season. Nazareth, which has battled injuries to key players this season, is coming off a 63-55 loss to Easton last Friday night. The Eagles’ three losses this season came against the Rovers, Freedom and Parkland. They own wins over Hazleton, Whitehall, Wilson West Lawn, Pleasant Valley, Liberty, Bethlehem Catholic and Northampton.

Kick off is slated for 7:05 p.m. at East Penn School District Stadium.