Heading into last week’s District 11 Class 6A semifinal against Freedom, Emmaus had already accomplished much more than any Hornet football team in recent memory. Its 10 wins were tied for the most by any Green Hornet team.

One more win would have qualified top-seeded Emmaus to play for a district title. Instead, it turned out to be its toughest loss of an impressive season under first-year head coach Harold Fairclough.

Freedom scored not even two minutes into action and never trailed, as the Patriots advanced to Friday’s championship game against Parkland with a 42-12 victory over Emmaus (10-2).

“We weren’t able to tackle very well,” said Fairclough. “We weren’t able to get off of blocks very well. They played with a lot more energy than we did, and we could not get stops.”

After a quick Emmaus three-and-out to start the game, Freedom running back Cyrus Thompson burst through the offensive line for a 51-yard touchdown run and a quick 7-0 advantage.

Emmaus would respond and get within a point late in the first quarter after Lubens Myers rumbled in for a 3-yard touchdown. But that’s when Freedom found it’s groove offensively.

Thompson, who finished with 193 yards and four scores, capped a five-play Patriot drive with a 24-yard touchdown up the left side on the last play of the quarter. Emmaus was able to cross midfield on its next possession looking for the game-tying touchdown, but a false start penalty on a first-down play put the Hornets in a position they could not recover from.

A 10-play Freedom drive resulted in Thompson’s third touchdown-a 9-yard scamper-and a 21-6 advantage. The Hornets were called for a 15-yard personal foul penalty on that drive that gave Freedom an automatic first down and got them out from deep in their own territory.

“One of the things we talked about was penalties that take us back to first-and-long or second-and-long,” Fairclough said. “It’s literally something that we talked about over and over and over and over again. We just couldn’t get it done.”

Freedom quarterback Joe Young (106 yards on the ground) opened the second half like Thompson did the first. His 68-yard scoring scamper on the first play of the second half gave the Patriots a commanding 28-6 lead. Thompson and Young traded two more rushing touchdowns to put Freedom in front 42-6 late in the third quarter.

Emmaus’ final touchdown of its historic season came from the Hornets’ leading rusher Myers-a 9-yard run with 6:11 to play. He’ll return next year, but the Hornets will graduate 11 seniors from this year’s team that made history in Fairclough’s first season at the helm.

“The season was a great start,” Fairclough said. “I’m so proud of the seniors. They laid a great foundation as far as work ethic is considered, as far as leadership is concerned, both on the field and off the field.

“I just told them that’s one of the biggest fears a new head coach has coming into a new program-you have to get those seniors to buy in. Your year is going to go how they go. They bought in quickly and they led the way. Everyone else bought in. They laid a great foundation.”

Fairclough might not have known how much this team could turn around from 2015’s Eastern Conference playoff team, but he always knew it was possible.

“You know I wasn’t sure at the time,” Fairclough said. “But I knew that if we worked our tails off, if the kids are coachable, and if we worked, good things happen. If you buy in and work hard in anything that you do, good things are going to happen…They really, really, really worked and they did an outstanding job, both in the community and on the field. You can’t ask for anything else.”