For one half of football on Friday night, Emmaus went toe-to-toe with one of the league’s top teams in Nazareth.
Trailing by just one score at the break (14-7), there were plenty of buzz in the stadium that perhaps the Hornets couldn’t pull off the upset, snap the Blue Eagles three-game win streak and spoil their homecoming.
Unfortunately for head coach Harold Fairclough’s team, that never happened.
There was still a whole second half of football to be played.
And that’s where Nazareth took over.
The Blue Eagles, who came into the game averaging 39 points per outing, finally got their offense going after halftime as they scored a pair of touchdowns and outscored Emmaus 18-0 on their way to a 32-7 win.
Junior running back Will Bacolo scored a pair of scores and finished with 153 yards on the ground and classmate, quarterback Cooper Madson, threw for a TD and ran for another as Nazareth improved to 4-1 on the season. It was the first win by the Blue Eagles over Emmaus in three years.
The Hornets, who were on a two-game win streak after wins over Scranton and Pocono Mountain East, dropped to 2-3 with the loss as they reach the midway point of their season. The 32 points was the most allowed on the season and the seven points scored were the fewest.
Emmaus, playing its first road game since a Week 1 loss at Neshaminy, trailed 14-0 after Nazareth scored touchdowns on two of their first three drives of the game before cutting the lead in half late in the second quarter on senior Anthony Attar’s 5-yard touchdown run, his fourth of the season.
But that would be the last and only time the Hornets would find the end zone on the night.
Nazareth took advantage of two Emmaus turnovers and converted both into touchdowns. On the night, the Blue Eagles came away with points on five of their eight possessions. Meanwhile, Emmaus scored just once on their eight drives.
Senior Jay Santos saw his first action of the season after returning from an injury and was Emmaus’ leading rushing with 73 yards on the ground. Junior quarterback Kellen Hafner was 5 of 11 through the air but threw for a season-low 68 yards.
Senior linebacker Mason Lenig led Emmaus in tackles for the second consecutive week with 11. Attar was next with six tackles, while fellow senior Tyler Carmosky, returning from an injury, and Jamaad Sanders each had five.
Nazareth outgained Emmaus in the game in total yards 307-191.
Emmaus was just 2 of 7 (29 percent) on third down efficiency, while the Blue Eagles were 5 of 12 (42 percent). Nazareth was also 2 of 2 on fourth downs and Emmaus 0-2.
Emmaus will stay on the road this week as they travel to J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown on Thursday to take on rival Central Catholic. The game will be carried LIVE on The Eastern Pa. Sports Network. Pregame show at 6:30 p.m.
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Nazareth 32, Emmaus 7
Em – 0-7-0-0 – 7
Naz – 7-7-7-11 – 32
Scoring:
Naz – Will Bacolo 1 yard run (Owen Hall PAT)
Naz – Bacolo 30-yard run (Hall PAT)
Em – Anthony Attar 5-yard run (George Marmaros PAT)
Naz – Matt Leluga 2-yard pass from Cooper Madson (Hall PAT)
Naz – Hall FG 24 yards
Naz – Madson 21-yard run (Zuercher run)
Individual stats – Emmaus
Rushing – Jay Santos 8-73, TD; Anthony Attar 4-29, Manolo Bermudez 9-21, Kellen Hafner 2 (-10)
Passing – Kellen Hafner 5 of 11, 68 yards
Receiving – Jacquez Pletz 2-9, Jamaad Sanders 1-5, Legend Vasquez 1-46, Mason Lenig 1-8