Football – Hornets host newly-formed Wilkes-Barre area in opening round of District XI Class 6A playoffs tonight. PREVIEW

Matchup: No.8 seed Wilkes-Barre (6-4) vs No.1 seed Emmaus (9-1)

When/Where: Friday/East Penn SD Stadium

Time:  7 p.m.

Coverage: LIVE internet webcast: http://mixlr.com/easternpasportsnet/events/football-district-xi-6a-quarterfinals-wi, Pregame: 6:30 p.m.

What’s on the line: A berth in the semifinals on November 11 vs winner of No.4 Freedom/No.5 Hazleton

Coaches: Wilkes-Barre: (Ciro Cinti, 4th season) Emmaus: (Harold Fairclough, 7th season, 52-20);

Points for: WB 28.3, Em 36.3

Points against: WB 19.4, Em 12.4

Results to date: Emmaus def. Freedom 19-13, CCHS 12-7, Whitehall 27-19, def. ESN 70-6, def Becahi 42-12, def. Stroudsburg 51-14, def. Liberty 49-0, lost to Nazareth 20-14, def. Easton 42-21, def. Parkland 40-25 … Wilkes-Barre: lost to Scranton 25-22, def. Abington Heights 21-14, def. Wallenpaupack 34-7, lost to Hazleton 20-7, def. Berwick 35-21, lost to Crestwood 45-14, lost to Delaware Valley 35-24, def. Williamsport 46-14, def. Dallas 35-7, defeated Wyoming Valley West 45-6

Players to keep an eye on: Emmaus – Sr. QB Jacob Fotta (100 of 163, 1,781 yards, 19 TD, 2 Int), Sr. RB Tylik Jarvis (129 rushes, 717 yards, 7 TD), Sr. WR Dylan Darville (51 rec., 959 yards, 11 TD), Sr. WR Chase Fotta (17-431-5), Sr LB Aidan Garrett (85 TKL, 5 sacks), Sr FS Ryan DeJohn (61 TKL), Jr LB John Wassel (62 TKL), Jr. LB Reilly Bechtel (55 TKL), Sr. K Owen Garcia (2/3 FG, 38/41 XPT)

Wilkes-Barre – Jr. RB Mekhi Nelson (214 rushes, 1,624 yards, 21 TD), Fresh. QB Jake Howe (52 of 113, 813 yards, 7 TD, 6 Int), Jr. WR Naquan Johnson (22 rec., 490 yards, 5 TD), Jr. RB Howie Shiner (113-670-3), Sr. TE/LB Gannon Redding

GAME NOTES:  Emmaus begins its quest for its first District XI championship in school history as they host Wilkes-Barre in the quarterfinal round. This is the first-ever matchup between the two schools … The Hornets are appearing in districts for the seventh straight year. They reached the finals last year (28-14 loss to Freedom) and in 2018 (loss to Freedom 49-17) … Wilkes-Barre is a program only in its fourth year of existence. They play in the Wyoming Valley Conference. Last year they were 4-7. There best year was in 2019: 7-5 …The school was formed between three other high schools – Coughlin, Elmer Meyers and Wilkes-Barre GAR….