The football gods are fickle. Their criteria for deciding the outcome of games is unknown and they never give interviews. In fact, no one knows where they set up shop and why they care so much about high school football games.

But after Emmaus’ amazing 50-49 win over Bethlehem Catholic on Oct. 20 at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium, even the most ardent football atheist would have to question why they don’t have faith in those football gods. The week before, the Hornets mostly outplayed a great Freedom squad and lost a heartbreaker in overtime 32-31. It was a game Emmaus could have won, should have won, but didn’t.

Then last Saturday night one could say the proverbial shoe was on the other foot. In a wild game, somehow, some way, the Hornets (8-1) managed to dodge a bullet - or make that two, three or four. The stats were not on their side. Becahi amassed a staggering 31 first downs. They gobbled up 623 yards in offense. Twice Bethlehem Catholic led by 14 points - once in the second quarter and once in the fourth quarter - but they could not seal the deal.

“I just told them to keep battling,” Emmaus coach Harold Fairclough said of his message to his players when they down, but not out. “I wasn’t worried when we were down 14-0. Now when were down 14 points in the fourth quarter, that had me concerned.”

This game, purely and simply, was decided on mistakes. The previous week the Green Hornets shot every toe off their foot. They committed too many turnovers and 18 penalties. On Saturday night, they played a much smarter football game, reducing their penalties to eight and committing no turnovers.

“We’re never going to play a perfect football game,” Fairclough says. “We are going to make some mistakes, but we really talked about limiting mistakes and penalties last week.”

The Golden Hawks (6-3) had three turnovers - two of which were very costly fumbles that directly resulted in 14 Emmaus points.

With 9:50 remaining in the third quarter, Emmaus’ Sone Ntoh went 68 yards for a touchdown on a fumble recovery to give the Hornets a 28-21 lead.

With the clock showing 10:46 in the fourth quarter, Gabe Trexler recovered a fumble in the end zone on an Emmaus kickoff. It tied the game at 42-42.

After a Bethlehem Catholic touchdown and extra point gave them a 49-42 lead, Emmaus started their beautiful game-winning drive. It was culminated by a 29-yard touchdown pass from smooth quarterback Ethan Parvel to the sure-handed wide receiver Deonte Castro with 3:40 remaining in the fourth quarter. The touchdown cut the Becahi lead to one point at 49-48. Fairclough rolled the dice and went for two.

“I think (the players) appreciated us having the faith in the them,” the coach said.

After a timeout, Parvel attempted to run to his right, but was greeted by a cadre of brown-and-gold clad football warriors. Parvel kept his cool, improvised, and cut all the way back to his left to score.

“That was all Ethan,” Fairclough said. “He’s just competitive. He found a way to get it done.”

The Golden Hawks were not a dead football team. All night their offense had easily matriculated the ball down the field. Their prospects improved when Tavion Banks returned the ensuing kickoff to the Emmaus 48-yard line. After a few plays, the Golden Hawks had moved to the Emmaus 27, but two ambush sacks ended their hopes.

Both sacks were coverage sacks. The Hornets switched their defensive coverage, anticipating a deep comeback route. They were right. Jacob Weider eventually lassoed Bethlehem Catholic quarterback Zamar Brake. On the fourth down play, Emmaus defenders again provided superlative coverage. With no one open and running out of time, Brake stepped up and into a swarm of Hornet rushers, with Ben Wassel recording the final kill.

“They just did an awesome job,” Fairclough said of the stop.

In a game where 99 combined points were scored, defense was at a premium. Ironically, Emmaus won the game on a defensive stop.

But it proved to be the exception. All night Bethlehem Catholic’s Banks and backfield mate Zaheer Seabrooks tormented the Hornets.

Time and again this dynamic duo went into the Emmaus meat grinder and time and again they emerged with legs still chopping. They did it with a combination of bull-headed running and fancy feet. It often took half the Hornet defense to tame Banks and Seabrooks after they were initially hit.

“We had an enormous amount of missed tackles,” said Fairclough. “We saw it that night and saw it when we watched the video. That’s not us.”

The coach also acknowledged the prowess of the Golden Hawk offensive line. He noted their incredible size and mobility and the job they did on his undersized defensive squad.

The stat sheet shows the carnage - Bethlehem Catholic amassed 469 rushing yards on 57 carries.

Brake completed 12 of 13 passes for 154 yards. His lone incompletion came in the second quarter and was intercepted by Ntoh.

“There was a lack of energy and effort defensively,” Fairclough says. “This was the first time all season we did not play with a whole lot of energy.”

The Emmaus offense also moved the ball, accumulating 356 total yards. Parvel played his normal great football game, completing 15 of 23 passes for 220 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Castro caught four balls for 96 yards and one touchdown. Jameel Sanders also contributed with three catches, two of which went for touchdowns. The Emmaus running attack gained 136 yards on 37 rushes.

The game could have gone either way, but went in Emmaus’ favor. Sometimes the football gods do that. After all, we know they are fickle.