RECAP >> In a defensive battle, it was Emmaus which came up with big stops all night long as the Hornets snapped a long losing streak to Freedom by handing the Patriots a 13-6 defeat before a huge opening night crowd Friday at East Penn School District Stadium.
The victory, which improved Emmaus to 2-0 on the season, snapped a seven-game losing skid dating back to the 2016 season. It was also just the third time in the last 11 meetings that the Hornets have defeated Freedom, but what a win it was for head coach Harold Fairclough’s team.
Junior Tylik Jarvis came up with a huge play in the game after Freedom had cut the Hornets lead to 7-6 after three quarters as he ripped off 65-yard touchdown run that gave Emmaus a big insurance score. Jarvis – coming off a career-high four touchdown, 112-yard effort in last week’s 51-0 rout over Stroudsburg – finished the night with a career-best 148 yards on the ground.
With neither team being able to score in the first half, Emmaus finally broke through and got on the scoreboard four minutes into the third quarter as sophomore quarterback Josiah Williams hooked up with senior Jaiden Robinson on a 40-yard scoring strike to give the Hornets a 7-0 lead.
Williams finished the night with a career-high 176 yards thru the air completing 16 of 28 passes. He also threw two interceptions.
Robinson’s five catches for 80 yards were both career-highs. Senior Ben Thomas also had a big game with a career-best 59 yards on five receptions.
Defensively, Emmaus was once again solid for for the second consecutive game as they have allowed just one touchdown in eight quarters. Junior Aidan Garrett led the way with 12 tackles and a sack, while senior Jared Groller had six tackles and sophomore Ben Mercado had five, including one sack. Senior David Iobst came up with an interception late in the game to preserve the victory for the Hornets.
Freedom’s lone touchdown of the night came on the first play of the fourth quarter as running back Deante Crawford scored from 13 yards out. The six points scored by the Patriots was their fewest since a 30-6 loss to Parkland in the 2017 District XI Class 6A playoffs.
Statistically, Emmaus dominated finishing with 366 total yards compared to just 173 for Freedom.
Emmaus will return to action next Saturday, September 11 as they travel to J. Birney Crum Stadium to take on Central Catholic (2 p.m.) The game will be carried Live on http://www.easternpasportsnetwork.com beginning with the pregame show at 1:30 p.m.
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Emmaus 13, Freedom 6
F – 0-0-0-6 – 6
E – 0-0-7-6 – 13
Scoring:
E – Jaiden Robinson 40 yard pass from Josiah Williams (Owen Garcia PAT)
F – Deante Crawford 13 yard run (run failed)
E – Tylik Jarvis 65 yard run (run failed)
Team stats:
Rushing yards – Free 102, Em 188
Passing yards – Free 71, Em 176
Total yards – Free 173, Em 366
Individual: Em
Rushing – Tylik Jarvis 17-148, TD; Josiah Williams 7-30, Jared Groller 3-11, Sam Moratori 2-1
Passing – Josiah Williams 16-28, 176 yards, TD, 2 Int
Receiving – Jaiden Robinson 5-80, Ben Thomas 5-59, Chase Fotta 3-45, Tylik Jarvis 2 (-4), Jeremiah Sona 1 (-4)
Photos: Alice Adams
