RECAP >> Emmaus had no trouble taking care of its first-round opponent Wilkes-Barre Area in the opening-round of the District 2/11 Class 6A subregional tournament last night at home at East Penn School District Stadium as the Hornets rolled to an easy 42-14 victory.
Head coach Harold Fairclough’s team scored touchdowns on all five of its first half possessions as they jumped out to a 35-0 lead at the intermission and enforced the mercy-rule the entire second half.
The victory improves top-seeded Emmaus to 10-1 on the season and advances them to next Friday’s semifinal round back at EPSD Stadium where they will face a familiar foe in Freedom, the No. 4 seed which rolled to a 38-0 victory over fifth-seeded Hazleton.
Emmaus has already defeated the Patriots once this season, 19-13 on August 26, but it’s been Freedom which has been head coach Harold Fairclough’s team’s biggest nemesis as they’ve ended the Hornets season in five of the last six years, including in last year’s district final.
Next Friday’s game will be carried LIVE on The Eastern Pa. Sports Network beginning with the pregame show at 6:30 p.m.
Senior quarterback Jake Fotta threw for three touchdown passes for the fourth time this season – in just the first half alone – in last night’s win as he hooked up with three different receivers, including brother Chase on a 21-yard TD pass in the Hornets 28-point second quarter.
Rafael Terrero, a sophomore, had a career-high five receptions in the game for 61 yards and a 16-yard TD pass from Fotta on Emmaus’ first possession of the night, while senior Dylan Darville had his 12th receiving TD of the season.
Senior kicker Owen Garcia was 5-for-5 on extra points and reached a personal milestone as he recorded his 100th career point on Emmaus’ first touchdown of the night.
Senior linebacker Tyler Ruddick led Emmaus with five tackles, while classmate free safety Ryan DeJohn had three tackles and an interception.
Wilkes-Barre, which ended its season with a 6-5 record, was led by junior Mekhi Nelson who had pair of fourth quarter touchdowns. Nelson had 142 receiving yards on just four receptions, half of those yards coming on a 73-yard scoring pass from freshman quarterback Jake Howe.
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Em – 7-28-7-0 42
WB – 0-0-0-14 – 14
Scoring:
Em – Rafael Terrero 16 pass from Jake Fotta (Owen Garcia PAT)
Em – Dylan Darville 7 pass from Fotta (Garcia PAT)
Em – Chase Fotta 21 pass from Jake Fotta (Garcia PAT)
Em – Tylik Jarvis 1 run (Garcia PAT)
Em – Josiah Williams 2 run (Garcia PAT)
Em – Jasiyah Banks 2 run (Nolan Hislop PAT)
WB – Mehki Nelson 1 run (Shelby Ardo-Boyko PAT)
WB – Nelson 73 pass from Jake Howe (Ardo Boyko PAT)
INDIVIDUAL STATS:
Rushing – Em: Tylik Jarvis 7-37, TD; Jake Fotta 5-54, Josiah Williams 3-6, Jasiyah Banks 9-62; WB: Mekhi Nelson 9-32, Howie Shiner 5-7, Jerek Cooper 2-17, Neo Michel 2 (-2)
Passing – Em: Jake Fotta 10 of 13, 106 yards, 3 TD; Josiah Williams 1-3, 41 yards; Jerek Cooper 2-4, 20 yards; WB: Jake Howe 9-20, 182 yards, TD, Int
Receiving – Em: Chase Fotta 3-67, TD; Rafael Terrero 5-61, TD; Donovan McCargo 3-28, Dylan Darville 1-7, Ryan DeJohn 1-4, TD; WB: Naquan Johnson 5-40, Mekhi Nelson 4-142, TD
PHOTO GALLERY (Courtesy of Nathan Lewis)
