For two-and-a-half quarters, the Emmaus football team looked like ready to pull off an upset of Eastern Pennsylvania Conference favorite Parkland in the final game of the regular season.

The Hornets scored first and trailed by only two points with just over a minute left in the third quarter last Friday night in Orefield. And they needed a win for any shot at a District 11 playoff berth.

But the Trojans athleticism took over and was too much for Emmaus (5-5 overall) as the Trojans came away with a 35-12 last Friday night at Parkland School District Stadium.

Parkland scored 21 unanswered points in the last 13 minutes to put the game away.

Erik DiGirolamo had a highlight-reel run down the sideline from the Trojans 2-yard line for a school-record 98 yard touchdown. The senior tailback broke tackles and threw players to the ground on his way to the end zone.

DiGirolamo’s second touchdown of the game and Kenny Yeboah’s third sealed the deal and gave Parkland (9-1) a share of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference title along with Freedom (9-1).

“We had to fight through it,” Yeboah said of the slow start. “We all had to step up our games and do what we had to do in the second half to come out of here with a win. I’m very proud of the way the guys came back and got the job done.”

The Hornets received the opening kickoff and conducted an 11-play drive that halted on downs at the Trojans 29-yard line. But two plays later, Emmaus’ Benjamin Maehrer intercepted Parkland quarterback Devante Cross (211 passing yards, 3 touchdowns) and ran it back for a touchdown, giving Emmaus a 6-0 lead.

It was going to be hard to shutout the Trojans. In the second quarter, Cross connected with Yeboah from 17 yards away and a 7-6 lead midway through the second quarter.

Yeboah was trouble for the Green Hornets secondary. He finished with 10 catches for 128 yards and three touchdowns. He was able to out-jump the smaller defenders in the back of the end zone.

“Our coach wanted me to go to their sideline [because of the mismatch],” said Yeboah. “I just found the ball at its highest point and made some plays. That’s what the coaches want me to do in one-on-one situations.”

His second touchdown made it 14-6 heading to halftime. And with Parkland driving deep into Emmaus territory in the second half, the Hornet defense once again came up big, stuffing DiGirolamo (196 yards, two touchdowns) at the one-yard line on fourth down.

Three plays later, Stephen Wolf took a handoff from senior running back Kyle Boney and raced 94 yards down field for a score and a 14-12 deficit.

When Cross was intercepted again by Maehrer, Emmaus had a chance to regain the lead. But a punt was followed by a DiGirolomo 98-yard run down the sideline that took the life out of the defense, and gave the Trojans all of the momentum back to carry until the end.

“It meant a lot to us,” Yeboah added on the win. “We definitely wanted to win the EPC this year because we fell short last year. Championships are always nice but we have more games to play.”