Emmaus grinds out victory over Easton
Green Hornets will play in first district championship game after 31-24 win.
Emmaus advanced to its first District 11 football final Friday with a 31-24 victory over an Easton team that kept coming back.
Emmaus earned a rematch with No. 2 seed Freedom, Emmaus’ only loss on a late twopoint conversion in overtime, 32-31 in Week 9.
On Saturday in Emmaus, the Green Hornets never trailed after Deontre Castro went 54 yards for a touchdown on a jet sweep three plays into the game. Easton tied the game at 17 to close the half when Nahjee Adams caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Nate Nimeh with 31 seconds remaining.
Rovers receiver Mike Dunlap caught the two-point pass to even the score at 17. Dunlap finished the game with five receptions for 148 yards.
Emmaus quarterback Ethan Parvel — who won a District 11 5A title at Whitehall last year — has a shot to win a 6A crown. His 12-yard touchdown run in the third quarter gave Emmaus another lead, but Easton fought back with 6:14 left, tying the game when Nimeh scrambled for a 12-yard score.
Easton almost scored earlier, but a drop in the end zone and an interception by Emmaus defensive back Isaiah McPherson kept the Rovers at bay. Easton (8-4) also hurt itself with two penalties that turned promising drives into insurmountable yardage.
Emmaus profited from heroic, unlikely long-distance conversions. Facing 4th-and-20, Parvel lofted a corner pass to McPherson, who climbed over a defender for a 30-yard touchdown in the first half.
Kicking game
Emmaus’ red-zone defense in the first half might get overlooked, but when Easton settled for three field goals by Enzo Martellucci (33, 26, 36) the Green Hornets (11-1) maintained control.
Second-half commitments
Easton came out in the second half committed to the running game, feeding Harold Reynolds all the way down the field. He carried seven times for 45 yards on a night he finished with 17 carries for 65 yards, but the Rovers wasted the drive with a dropped pass and an interception.
Emmaus got the ball and showed the same commitment — run the ball for dominance and speed up the tempo. The Hornets drove 80 yards — the first 11 on runs, featuring Lubens Myers and Sone Ntoh — before Parvel hit Adam Heiserman for 12 yards on fourth-and-five. Parvel then scored on the next play from the 12.