Emmaus hung around with archrival Parkland for a half in the regular-season finale for both teams on Friday night in Orefield, but the state’s No.2 ranked team proved to be too much after the halftime break as they pulled away for a 41-17 victory in the “Battle of Cedar Crest Cup.”
Parkland’s big play offense, which came into the game averaging nearly 40 points per outing, used a 21-point third quarter to crush any hopes of an Emmaus upset.
The Hornets, who won last year’s meeting (40-25) and three of the last four in the series between the two schools, were looking to hand Parkland its first loss of the season. But instead, it was the Trojans celebrating their Senior Night and an unbeaten regular-season.
Emmaus suffered it second straight defeat and finishes the regular season at 5-5. It’s the second time in the last four years that the Hornets have finished with that same mark.
Parkland, meanwhile, wrapped its first perfect regular-season (10-0) since 2017.
Both teams are headed to the District XI Class 6A playoffs this Friday with the Hornets earning the No.5 seed and facing a familiar foe on the road in fourth-seeded Freedom, while the Trojans, the defending champs, will host eighth-seeded Williamsport.
Emmaus will head into the post-season on a two-game losing streak after allowing 66 points in its last two games.
Defensively, the Hornets once again struggled for the second week in a row after haltime as Parkland scored four touchdowns and 27 points to pull away after only leading 14-3 at the break.
Senior quarterback Luke Spang led the Trojans offense accounting for five touchdowns. Spang completed 11 of 15 for 220 yards and four scores while also running for a fifth. Three of those touchdown passes went to classmate Connor Johns who finished the night with a career-high 133 yards on just four receptions. Senior running back Trey Tremba had 94 yards on the ground and also caught a 25-yard touchdown pass giving Parkland an early 7-0 lead.
For Emmaus, Jerek Cooper was one of the bright spots. The sophomore quarterback came in early in the third quarter for senior Josiah Williams (6 of 15, 40 yards, 1 INT) and engineered a pair of drives that resulted in the only points of the second half for the Hornets. Cooper finished the night 8 of 15 for a career-high 161 yards to go along with a 63-yard touchdown pass to junior wideout Rafael Terrero.
Senior Riley Guiffre had a career-best for receptions (4) and yards (82) in the loss, while classmate Daniel Duggan caught a career-high five passes.
On defense, senior cornerback Matt Volquez led the Hornets with seven tackles, while Terrero and senior linebacker Connor Ravier each had six tackles.
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Parkland 41, Emmaus 17
Em – 0-3-14-0 – 17
Pa – 7-7-21-6 – 41
Scoring:
Pa – Trey Tremba 25 yard pass from Luke Spang (Aidan Gallagher PAT)
Pa – Spang 2 yard run (Gallagher PAT)
Em – Will Buck FG 38 yards
Pa – Tremba 74 yard punt return (Gallagher PAT)
Em – Jasiyah Banks 25 yard run (Buck PAT)
Pa – Connor Johns 58 yard pass from Spang (Gallagher PAT)
Pa – Johns 39 yard pass from Spang (Gallagher PAT)
Em – Rafael Terrero 63 yard pass from Jerek Cooper (Buck PAT)
Pa – Johns 31 yard pass from Spang (PAT failed)
INDIVIDUAL – Emmaus
Rushing – Jerek Cooper 3-39, Josiah Williams 10-43, Jasiyah Banks 1-25, TD; Riley Guiffre 4-5, Neo Michel 1-2, Gavin Newhart 1-0, Reilly Bechtel 2 (-3)
Passing – Josiah Williams 6 of 15, 40 yards, 1 Int.; Jerek Cooper 8 of 15, 161 yards, 1 TD, 1 Int.; Gavin Newhart 0-0 0.
Receiving – Riley Guiffre 4-82, Rafael Terrero 3-76, TD: Daniel Duggan 5-37, Cole Moreau 1-7, John Wassel 1-4
PHOTO GALLERY (Courtesy of Tom Ashelman)
