Green Hornets leave no doubt this time
QB Ethan Parvel runs for 3 TDs as team advances to semis.
When they met 64 days earlier on Aug. 31, Emmaus and Nazareth staged a game that stood up as one of the most entertaining, and controversial, of the entire scholastic football season.
Emmaus won it 43-42 on a last-ditch pass play by Ethan Parvel to Izaiah McPherson that was followed by Lubens Myers’ two-point run. Many thought Parvel was either down or past the line of scrimmage when he released the ball.
Saturday night at East Penn School District Stadium, the Blue Eagles and Green Hornets delivered another dandy — minus the controversy.
Parvel ran for three touchdowns and passed for two more and Sone Ntoh, who missed most of the first Nazareth game with an injury, ran for 205 yards and a 91-yard touchdown as Emmaus advanced to the District 11 6A semifinals with a 55-40 win over Nazareth.
No. 2 seed Emmaus will host No. 3 seed Easton at 7 p.m. Friday.
It will be the Green Hornets’ second appearance in the district semis in three years. The Blue Eagles closed the book on a 5-6 season.
On a field in much better shape than anyone expected after the previous night’s heavy rain, both teams showcased their offensive weapons.
In the end, Emmaus was simply relentless on offense.
The Green Hornets never had to punt, running one fake they didn’t convert and tried an ill-fated pass that was intercepted by Cole Osmun and returned for a Nazareth touchdown.
The game featured four returns — two on interceptions and two on kickoffs — for scores.
After the Osum interception return and a two-point conversion tied the game at 27-27 with 9:31 left in the third quarter Emmaus responded with 21 points to take control.
Two of the three Green Hornets scores in that decisive stretch covered 91 yards, a kickoff return by Deonte Castro and the 91-yard thunderbolt by Ntoh.
“We knew they were a good team, but we didn’t want to go home,” Ntoh said. “We played like this was our last game and we came out with the victory.”
No stop Ntoh
Ntoh carried 18 times for 205 yards and was a beast on defense with a double-digit tackle total.
The Harvard commit was a dominant force.
The slick field couldn’t slow him down.
“The postponement didn’t bother us,” he said. “Whenever was our motto. Whenever they wanted to play we were going to be ready. It happened to be tonight at 7 o’clock and we got the job done.”
Ntoh said his team’s defense is “bend, but don’t break” in style.
“We gave them a couple of plays, but we always answer back,” Ntoh said. “That’s how our team is. It’s a family here.”
Coaches corner
Emmaus coach Harold Fairclough was pleased how his team handled the back-andforth nature of the game.
“Our kids played well,” Fairclough said. “We gave up a lot of points but that’s a great offensive team. We still made some plays when it counted.”
As for his offense, he complimented the guys up front.
“We had it rolling and our backs did great,” Fairclough said. “We earned another week and that’s the most important thing. It’s awesome to be back in the semifinals. That’s where we want to be as a program every year. We want to be in the top four, top three, two two, top one every one.”
Emmaus ended up with 484 yards of offense compared to Nazareth’s 307.
Nazareth coach Tom Falzone praised his kids.
“Emmaus made some big plays that broke our back, but our kids battled and fought like they did all year,” he said. “I don’t know another group that’s faced more adversity or a stranger year than this group did. We had some many injuries and some calls that cost us games. But the kids came back and worked hard every night. They battled, they fought and they played with class and tried to do it the right way. It’s a good group of kids and I’m proud of them.”
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