Easton stuns Emmaus
Late drive helps Red Rovers stay unbeaten
Nahjee Adams and Cole Transue both accounted for turnovers that stopped Easton drives in Emmaus territory.
Given a final possession by Easton’s defense, Adams and Transue rallied the Red Rovers.
Transue, Easton’s sophomore quarterback, orchestrated a 12-play, 69-yard drive after the Red Rovers regained possession with 2 minutes, 13 seconds to play. Adams finished the march by taking a toss and dashing inside the right pylon for a 1-yard touchdown with 16.5 seconds to go, lifting Easton to a 27-26 win in an EPC South football game Friday night at Cottingham Stadium.
Adams also converted a fourth-and-one on the final drive. Transue, meanwhile, had a 9-yard scramble and hit Chase Holmes for a 33-yard gain to move Easton (5-0 overall, 3-0 EPC South) just outside the red zone.
“I think it’s great that we had adversity in this game, because I think we needed adversity in this game to see what these kids are made of,” Easton coach Jeff Braido said. “I challenged them at halftime. We were down. We were playing like crap in the first half, and I wanted to see what kind of character they had in the second half.
“I didn’t want it to come down to 13 seconds left in the game. But when it came time to make a play, I’ll put my money on an Easton kid any day.”
Crucial stop: Easton’s comeback chances went on life support when Transue threw an interception while trying to find Holmes in the end zone late in the fourth quarter. Easton’s defense responded by forcing its third straight three-and-out. The Green Hornets (3-2, 1-2) hurt themselves with an illegal participation penalty that turned a third-and-three into a third-and-eight.
Transue showed no fear on the final drive, attacking down the field several times. His 33yard connection with Holmes (six catches, 132 yards) gave the Red Rovers plenty of time to finish their drive.
Adams, the EPC South’s leading rusher, carried three times for 11 yards on the final drive. He finished with 27 carries for 102 yards, overcoming a fumble when Easton was at Emmaus’ 28-yard line on its first secondhalf possession. He also went over 1,000 yards this season.
“This feels great, but we’ve got six more of them,” Transue said after completing 17 of 31 passes for 222 yards, one touchdown and one pick. “We’ve just got to keep pushing. This is a nice win.
“Tomorrow we’re going to look past this and get ready for next week.”
Bottled up, sort of: Easton kept Emmaus junior Brandon Camire, the EPC South’s second-leading rusher, under control. It limited him to six carries for 7 yards in the first half and 53 yards on 17 carries for the night.
The Red Rovers had less success corralling Camire on special teams. He gave the Green Hornets their first points of the night when he caught a kickoff at the 7-yard line, headed left and outran everyone for a 93-yard score.
Camire also returned punts for 17 and 28 yards. Both of those plays set up Emmaus scores, a 43-yard field goal from Alex Orlando and a 19-yard touchdown pass from Jake Moyer to Jameel Sanders.
Up next: Emmaus returns home for a Friday matchup with Liberty. Easton makes a trip to J. Birney Crum Stadium Saturday against Central Catholic.