Oh, so close.
That was the feeling and sentiment unfortunately felt by Emmaus players, coaches and fans as they walked out of the Zephyr Sports Complex at Whitehall late on Friday night.
That close to a victory.
That close to pulling off an upset.
That close to pulling off its biggest win to date.
Riding a two-game losing streak, their backs against the wall currently on the outside of the District XI 6A playoff race, things certainly looked bleak for head coach Harold Fairclough’s squad facing a 24-7 halftime deficit against a Whitehall team that had won four straight and had been averaging 45 points per game.
But then the second half happened, and things changed, in favor of the Hornets.
Playing inspired football coming out of the locker room despite trailing by 17, Emmaus was able to outscore the hosts the rest of the way 24-14 and actually led late in the fourth quarter and seemingly were on their way to an improbable victory.
But the Zephyrs, however, had other ideas.
With the Dogmanits brothers – quarterback Tanner and wideout Talon – leading the offense, Whitehall was able to go 80 yards with two minutes to play in the game as they stunned the Hornets with a late touchdown and spoiled Emmaus’ upset bid in a wild and penalty-filled 38-31 victory.
Junior running back Jeziah Gregory, who had four touchdowns on the night, wound up scoring the game-winner on a 11-yard TD scamper with a minute to play, and Tanner Dogmanits run on the two-point conversion was successful, as Whitehall regained the lead.
Emmaus, which played arguably its best game of the season, had one last hope with a minute to play in regulation with the ball at its own 20, but senior quarterback Jerek Cooper’s pass on second down was intercepted by the Zephyrs junior Nazavier Calcano sealing the Whitehall win.
In the loss, Emmaus ran for 317 yards on the ground led by Cooper who had career-high 187 yards, including a 37-yard touchdown run on the Hornets first drive of the night giving them an early 7-0 lead. Cooper, who was held out of last week’s game with Central Catholic with an injury, also threw a 19-yard TD pass to junior Mason Lenig in the third quarter that got Emmaus within 24-17.
Junior running back Jay Santos also had a big game rushing for over 100 yards for the third time this season (130 yards on 21 carries) and two scores, including his ninth and 10th TDs of the season. Santos second touchdown of the night – a 1-yard-run with 2:43 left in the fourth quarter – gave Emmaus a 31-30 lead before Whitehall was able to drive the length of the field for the winning score.
Tanner Dogmanits finished 12 of 16 passing for 196 yards and one touchdown. Gregory rushed for 114 yards, while Talon Dogmanits had seven receptions for 134 yards and teammate Bryce Medina had 125 yards on six catches.
For the second week in a row, the Hornets were once again hurt by penalties with 10 in the game, a number of which that drew a chorus of boos from the Emmaus faithful in attendance.
Defensively, senior Asher Dougherty had a career-game with nine tackles, six TFLs and two sacks for the Hornets. Classmate Joey Glover was next with five tackles and a pair of sacks.
Emmaus (2-5) will look to snap its three-game losing streak when they return home Friday to host Dieruff (1-6) at East Penn School District Stadium.
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Whitehall 38, Emmaus 31
Em – 7-0-10-14 – 31
Wh – 7-17-6-8 – 38
Scoring:
Em – Jerek Cooper 37-yard run (Gavin Yartymyk PAT), 7-0 E
Wh – Jeziah Gregory 7-yard run (Cole Richards PAT), 7-7
Wh – Talon Dogmanits 5-yard pass from Tanner Dogmanits (Richards PAT), 14-7 W
Wh – Gregory 4-yard run (Richards PAT), 21-7 W
Wh – FG Richards 31 yds, 24-7 W
Em – FG Yartymyk 22 yds, 24-10 W
Em – Mason Lenig 19-yard pass from Cooper (Yartymyk PAT), 24-17 W
Wh – Gregory 20-yard run (2 pt. conv. failed), 30-17 W
Em – Jay Santos 15-yard run (Yartymyk PAT), 30-24 W
Em – Santos 1 yard run (Yartymyk PAT), 31-30 E
Wh – Gregory 11-yard run (2 pt. conv. Tanner Dogmanits), 38-31 W
Stats – Individual (Emmaus)
Rushing – Jerek Cooper 18-187, TD; Jay Santos 21-130, 2 TD
Passing – Jerek Cooper 4 of 9, 43 yards, 1 TD/1 Int
Receiving – Mason Lenig 1-19, TD; Tyler Carmosky 1-14, Jamaad Sanders 1-5, Jay Santos 1-5
PHOTO GALLERY (Courtesy of Tom Ashelman)
#21 Anthony Attar
#9 Mason Lenig
#99 Gavin Yartymyk
#57 Joey Glover and #66 Mason Weber
#4 Jerek Cooper