Heading into their District XI Class 6A quarterfinal round playoff matchup at Easton last Friday, the odds were certainly stacked against Emmaus pulling off what would have been a huge upset.
Considering they barely squeaked into the post-season with a losing record (4-6) as the No. 8 seed, there weren’t many around the local high school scene that thought the Hornets could do the unthinkable.
But there was always that thought in the back of the minds of Emmaus replicating what happened a year ago when they were able to go to Cottingham Stadium and defeat the Red Rovers 20-19 in the semifinals, ending their hopes of winning a district title and sending the Hornets to the championship game.
Ultimately, Emmaus was not able to pull off the upset as they fell to a much more superior and undefeated Easton squad, but the showing that head coach Harold Fairclough’s team put forward as a decisive underdog was far better then back in Week 5 when they were mercy ruled 42-7.
Easton, the No. 1 seed and third-ranked team in the state, was able to rush for 231 yards on the ground and defensively, the Red Rovers forced a pair of turnovers as they ended Emmaus’ season with a 28-7 win on a windy and chilly Halloween night.
It was the second win second win for Easton over Emmaus this season and the 900th in program history for the Red Rovers (11-0), who advance to the semifinals on Friday to host fourth-seeded Liberty.
For Emmaus, the loss marked the end to a disappointing season where they finished just 4-7. It was the first losing season for the program since 2019.
Easton senior quarterback Cole Ordway, who was voted the league’s MVP on offense, ran for a touchdown and threw for another, while junior Sean McPeek also had a big night with a pair of scores.
The Red Rovers scored on their opening possession on a 3-yard touchdown run, his 30th rushing TD of the season. They then extended their lead to 14-0 right before the half as McPeek hauled in 19-yard TD pass.
Defensively, Emmaus played well giving up just those two touchdowns in the first half, but offensively the Hornets struggled for the second consecutive week to get the ball into the end zone.
Easton put the game out of reach early in the third quarter as backup running back senior Trevon Tyler scored on a 28-yard touchdown run to make it 21-0. Tyler finished as the game’s leading rusher with 92 yards on 11 carries.
Emmaus was able to avoid the shutout as Cooper scored his team’s only TD of the night on a nifty 44-yard run with :48 seconds left in the game before The Red Rovers quickly answered as McPeek picked off a Cooper and returned it 64 yards for a touchdown.
Cooper was the Hornets leading rusher in the game with 83 yards on the night but did struggle in the passing game completing just 5 of 21 for 44 yards and two interceptions.
Junior running back Jay Santos had 31 yards on the ground and finished the season just three yards shy of 1,000 (997).
Defensively, senior Robert Edwards had a season-high 10 tackles. Edwards finished as the Hornets leading tackler on the season with 84. Classmate Asher Doughtery was second with 55 while junior Mason Lenig was next with 35.
Easton outgained Emmaus 318-159 in the game. The Hornets were just 1 of 11 on third down, while the Red Rovers were 4 of 10. Each team turned it over twice. Emmaus finished just 1-5 on the road this season.
The game marked the final one in the high school career of the Emmaus’ 24 seniors — Andersen Borst, Augustin Camacho, Jerek Cooper, Brian Brown, Joseph Gbur, Jacob Sollenberger, Kai Jefferson-Rushing, Kayden Frey, Colin Garrett, Peter Sherman, Rowan Muller, Jaden Garcia, Chris Duque, Aiden Issler, Anthony Gbur, Brody McHugh, Jonah Labeda, Joey Glover, D’Angelo Flowers-Santiago, Asher Dougherty, Anthony Elias, Sebastian Miller, Robert Edwards and Gavin Yartymyk.
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Easton 28, Emmaus 7
Em – 0-0-0-7 – 7
Ea – 7-7-7-7 – 28
Scoring:
Ea – Cole Ordway 3-yard run (Noah Borluca PAT)
Ea – Sean McPeek 19-yard pass from Ordway (Borluca PAT)
Ea – Trevon Tyler 28-yard run (Borluca PAT)
Em – Jerek Cooper 44-yard run (Gavin Yartymyk PAT)
Ea – McPeek 64 yd INT (Borluca PAT)
Stats – Individual (Emmaus)
Rushing: Em – Jerek Cooper 7-83, TD; Jay Santos 16-31
Passing: Em – Jerek Cooper 5 of 21, 44 yards, 2 Int.
Receiving – Em – Kai Jefferson-Rushing 2-8, Jamaad Sanders 1-18, Legend Vasquez 1-9, Tyler Carmosky 1-9