No one can say for sure how last week’s wrestling match might have unfolded if Emmaus was able to field its full line up against Parkland.

But judging by the results, it would be hard to argue that the Hornets would have lost if three of their wrestlers didn’t miss the match.

The Hornets fell 34-24, but they had to forfeit two bouts and make a few other adjustments in order to give themselves a chance last Wednesday in Orefield.

“When we’re healthy we can hang with just about anybody,” said Emmaus head coach Jeff Arbushites. “Even though we had three kids that are out that really would have had an impact on the outcome of this match, I still feel what we put out there could have made a difference.”

The Trojans took a 15-0 lead after four matches as Bryan Diaz pinned James Bowie at 113 and the next three Trojans (Mason Landenderfer, Blake Shalbert and Kole Cummings) earned wins by decision.

Emmaus got on the board when senior Jacob Alcaro pinned Mason Trauger in the first period at 138 to make it 15-6.

Chris Tigar followed that with a 14-13 decision over Collin Walton to pull his team to within 15-9.

“Chris Tigar went in in spot duty,” said Arbushites. “He went up a weight against a strong kid and wrestled very well for a victory. He did what he needed to do for a victory.”

Hornet senior Tyler Corpora (152) earned a 12-5 decision over KJ Vrablik to get Emmaus three points closer to the Trojans.

The Hornets took a lead when freshman Caden Wright (160) pinned David Polanki in 2:53 to put his team ahead 18-15.

Senior Jared Skibinski beat Parkland’s Adam Lizak by a 10-5 decision at 170 to get his team a six-point lead, but the Hornets forfeited the next two bouts and fell behind 27-21 with three bouts left.

Parkland’s Alex Van Woert earned a 7-0 decision over Luigi Mannino at 220. Arbushites was pleased that the sophomore was able to keep the Trojans from earning bonus points in that match.

“Luigi Mannino wrestled a very seasoned Parkland upper weight and held him to a three-point decision,” he said. “That’s a three-point win the way I look at it.”

Nate Feyrer picked up a 10-2 major decision over the Hornets’ Joe Barno to seal the win after the 220-pound match. Peyton Brown finished off the match with a 9-3 decision over Parkland freshman Lucas Kern at 106.

“I’m proud of some of our senior leadership and some of our kids that really stepped up and did a good job,” said Arbushites. “We had some big quiet wins and quiet losses.

“It just seemed there wasn’t the intensity, the urgency, the enthusiasm, the things that I kind of want to see out of a team that’s prepared to wrestle. I feel like we didn’t come out prepared to wrestle.”

Emmaus was without three members of the starting line up, including senior Reed Custer, who has been one of the team’s best this season and is recovering from an injury. He’s expected back in a few weeks. Arbushites hopes to have him before the end of team competitions.

Emmaus heads into this week at 7-4 overall and is 11th in the district rankings. The top 12 make the team tournament.