Football – Hornets put distractions at school aside, roll past defending District 11 champs Nazareth 35-7 for fifth straight win.

Emmaus quarterback Josiah Williams hands off to running back Jared Groller during a recent game. Groller had a monster night for the Hornets as they rolled past Nazareth 35-7 last night at EPSD Stadium. Photo: Tom Ashelman

RECAP >> With or without fans in the stands Emmaus continues to roll.

Playing infront of no fans at home at East Penn School District Stadium due to an anonymous bomb threat called into the school earlier in the day, the Hornets were hardly fazed in their Eastern Pennsylvania Conference South Division headliner last night against Nazareth as they jumped out to an early lead and cruised to an easy 35-7 victory over the Blue Eagles.

Emmaus, winners’ of five straight, scored touchdowns in every quarter as they improved to 7-1 on the season despite playing in a empty stadium on what would have been homecoming.

Senior running back/linebacker Jared Groller had a monster game on both sides of the ball as he scored a pair of touchdowns on runs of 4 and 5 yards and finished with 82 yards on the ground. He also had a game-high eight tackles to go along with three sacks.

Junior quarterback Josiah Williams threw for a 166 yards and two touchdowns, hooking up with senior Jeremiah Sona for his first career touchdown on 9-yard scoring strike with :09 seconds left before halftime and senior Jaiden Robinson on a 40-yard TD pass late in the third quarter.

Also in the victory, senior Sam Moratori rushed for a career-high 116 yards, including a career-best 84-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that gave Emmaus a 35-0 lead and enforcing the mercy rule.

Defensively, the Hornets gave up just their second touchdown in their last five games. Senior Trevor Gitski finished with six tackles and a sack, while junior Aidan Garrett had three tackles and two sacks.

Nazareth averted the shutout and scored their lone touchdown of the night came with 8:26 left in regulation as junior quarterback Sonny Sasso hooked up with sophomore wide receiver Mason Kuehner on a 39-yard scoring strike. Kuehner had a game-high six receptions for 148 yards. The Blue Eagles had their two-game win streak snapped as they fell to 5-3 on the season.

Emmaus will be back at EPSD Stadium next Friday when they host Easton (4-2). The game will be carried Live on www.easternpasportsnetwork.com beginning with the pregame show at 6:30 p.m. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

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Emmaus 35, Nazareth 7

Naz – 0-0-0-7 – 7

Em – 14-7-7-7 – 35


Scoring:

Em – Jared Groller 4 yard run (Owen Garcia PAT)

Em – Groller 5 yard run (Garcia PAT)

Em – Jeremiah Sona 9 yard pass from Josiah Williams (Garcia PAT)

Em – Jaiden Robinson 40 yard pass from Williams (Garcia PAT)

Em – Sam Moratori 84 yard run (Garcia PAT)

Na – Mason Kuehner 39 yard pass from Sonny Sasso (Chris Bugbee PAT)


Individual stats – EM


Rushing – Sam Moratori 10-116, TD; Jared Groller 9-81, 2 TD; Jasiyah Banks 7-27, Jaiden Robinson 1-6, Tyson Karrat 1-0, Josiah Williams 3 (-9)

Passing –Josiah Williams 8 of 18, 166 yards, 2 TD

Receiving – Chase Fotta 3-93, Jaiden Robinson 1-40, Ben Thomas 1-17, Jeremiah Sona 1-9, Tyson Karrat 1-4, Sam Moratori 1-3