Emmaus football head coach Harold Fairclough told his team on Saturday morning, less than 24 hours after a 17-6 victory at Easton, that they only have one more guaranteed game.

The Green Hornets (8-1 overall) have won eight of their nine games this season, but the experienced coach knows that anything can happen, and nothing is a guarantee.

That one more game left to play during the regular season is a rivalry showdown against Parkland (7-2 overall) at home on senior night. It’s also for the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference title.

“The guys are focused and they know what the game plan is,” said Fairclough. “This is the biggest game of the year, because it is the next game. That’s what they know each week. They are never looking ahead.

“The approach is no different from any other team we played this year. There will be a lot of hype from the kids around school and media, but the kids are focused and they know how to block out the noise.”

The Green Hornets have not beaten the Trojans since 2011, when current senior kicker Carson Landis’s brother Dalton, kicked a game-winning 44-yard field goal as time expired to win the game 23-20.

“Yeah hopefully we can replicate something like that on Friday night,” said Carson Landis with a laugh. “As long as we get the win.”

Landis booted a 41-yarder last weekend against the Red Rovers, and the running back duo of Lubens Myers and Sone Ntoh led the way. Myers finished with 131 yards and a touchdown. Ntoh tallied 145 yards and a score.

“It was an awesome feeling for our program,” said Fairclough. “Anytime you go into Cottingham Stadium and get a win is big. The kids were prepared, and we started fast. It was just a battle, but we were able to get it done.”

Emmaus will be in for another battle this weekend. Parkland features an offensive approach similar to the Hornets.

With a first-year starter at quarterback in Michael Ruisch, Trojan head coach Tim Moncman has used his running game to wear down opponents. The rushing attack primarily features two players.

Senior Nick Suriel is five yards away from 1,000 on the season and is quick with the ball in his hands. Junior Jahan Worth is a bruising running back/linebacker that won’t be taken down easily.

“They have two tough running backs,” Fairclough said. “They both run hard and know what to do with the ball. Their offensive line has been good for years, and continues to be this year.

“But I look at one of our main strengths, which is our run defense. We’ll come up with a game plan, but it won’t be much different than the rest of our games this year.”

Emmaus will go on to the District 11 Class 6A tournament, most likely as the top seed.

According to this week’s district football teleconference, Emmaus could lose to Parkland Friday night and would still maintain the top spot in the district rankings.