For the first time in its first 11 games, the Parkland boys basketball team was at full strength last week when it met Emmaus in and Eastern Pennsylvania Conference clash.

With Devante Cross back in the lineup, the Trojans looked like the team that everyone expected to see this year, with all five starters back from last year’s EPC and District 11 4A championship team.

In front of a large crowd at Parkland High School last Tuesday night, Parkland took a large early lead and never looked back.

Kyle Stout scored a game-high 25 points, and Sam Iorio (17 points), Cross (12) and Kenny Yeboah (10) each tallied dougle-figures in a 75-52 win over the rival Green Hornets.

“We have a different mentality against Parkland than we do against everybody else we play,” said head coach Steve Yoder. “When we get punched in the face by any other team, we punch back. The last couple of years against Parkland we got punched and we don’t punch back.”

Parkland jumped out to a 10-0 lead early in the first quarter..

It wasn’t just the offensive efficiency, however. The Trojans defense gave Green Hornets leading scorer David Kachelries fits all night. The junior finished with 14 points, but scored just two in the first half when Parkland pulled away.

The Trojans held the Emmaus without a field goal in the first quarter, as Emmaus missed its first 11 shots from the floor, taking a commanding 22-2 lead by the end of the eight-minute frame. It didn’t get much better from there as they managed just five field goals in the entire first half and trailed 39-14 at the break.

“We know they are going to go on runs,” said Yoder. “They do against everybody. It’s how you respond to those runs. We had four hussle plays the whole game - that says it all. Let’s call it what it was. There was a level of giving up there that we just didn’t compete on a level that we normally do.”

Parkland (8-3 overall, 6-1 EPC) just beat Emmaus (9-2, 6-1 EPC) in every aspect of the game.

Junior Matt Kachelries led Emmaus with a career-high 17 points.

The Green Hornets bounced back in a big way with a come-from-behind victory at Allen last Friday night. With upcoming games against Liberty, Becahi, and Whitehall, Emmaus has some games to erase the sour memory from the Trojans game.

“We get right back into it starting with Allen,” Yoder added. “There are some games we can use here to get ourselves back on the right path.”

Emmaus heads into this week in second place in the District 11 Class 4A rankings and tied with Parkland for first place in the EPC Skyland Division.