Hornets flood scoreboard, pour 55 points on Eagles
The Emmaus football team’s offense has so many playmakers that opposing defensive units are often rendered somewhere between bewildered and hopeless. The saying “you can’t stop them, you can only hope to contain them” is about right.
But last week, the Green Hornets’ offense ran into an opponent that literally wiped them out.
A torrential downpour forced the postponement of their Nov. 2 District 11 Class 6A quarterfinal against Nazareth for 24 hours. But the next night the second-seeded Green Hornets’ offense dried off and flooded the EPSD Stadium scoreboard in a 55-40 win over the seventh-seed Blue Eagles.
The victory sets up a semifinal battle at 7 p.m. on Nov. 9 against the third-seeded Easton Red Rovers at EPSD Stadium. Easton advanced Nov. 2 with a 39-19 quarterfinal win over Northampton.
Emmaus’ quarterfinal playoff was defined by big plays. None may have been bigger than the one turned in by Deonte Castro.
The Blue Eagles had just evened the score at 27-27 with 9:31 left in the third quarter. They did it thanks an Emmaus botched snap to punter Alex Orlando, who improvised an ill-advised pass that was picked off by Nazareth’s Cole Osmun, who sprinted 24 yards for the score. Moments later, Blue Eagle quarterback Anthony Harris converted the two-point conversion with a pass to Nathan Stefanik.
On the ensuing kickoff, Castro went 91 yards for the go-ahead touchdown and a lead Emmaus would not relinquish. Castro is a highlight video waiting to happen. His jaunt was defined by his vision and superior athletic talent, as he rocketed down the grass field toward the promised land.
In discussing the return, Emmaus coach Harold Fairclough noted the trend this season is for opposing kickoff teams to squib kick.
However, the Blue Eagles kicked deep not once, but twice in this game and Castro made them pay.
“We just had a middle return on that one and had good blocking and he did a nice job returning it,” Fairclough said. He credited special teams coach Keith Brader for the success on that play and for firing up his kids to take pride playing on the kick off team.
With a 34-27 lead, the Emmaus defense went to work. Nicholas Roselli intercepted an off-target Harris pass to set up a two-yard run by quarterback Ethan Parvel, which put Emmaus up 41-27 with 6:18 left in the third quarter.
“That was a huge play,” the coach said of the pick. He added good downfield coverage allowed Roselli to make his big steal.
Parvel turned in an efficient passing performance, completing five of eight for 98 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also registered three other touchdowns on runs of one, five and two yards. Parvel didn’t need to pass that much because the Emmaus ground attack ran wild.
Leading the way was running back Sone Ntoh. The 5-11, 210-pound senior has a beautiful combination of power and speed. Blessed with vision and the ability to cut on dime, Ntoh is a threat every time he carries the mail. On this night, he used his 4.6 speed to acquire 212 yards on 16 attempts and one absolutely glorious touchdown run of 91 yards in the third quarter to put Emmaus up 48-27.
“I feel really good for him,” Fairclough said. “He’s fully healed and is running with a little anger and a bit of a chip on his shoulder. When he gets going, it’s hard to stop him.”
Ntoh had plenty of help from backfield mate Lubens Myers, who ran for 112 yards on 17 carries and a 26-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to give Emmaus a 27-19 lead.
“Lubens looked really good out there,” Fairclough said. “He’s healthy and ran well.”
The Emmaus air attack also factored into this win. Wide receiver Castro caught three passes for 52 yards and the final Emmaus touchdown of the game came on a one-yarder in the fourth quarter that gave Emmaus a 55-34 lead. Wide receiver Izaiah McPherson caught two balls for 46 yards and the opening touchdown of the night, a 25-yarder in the first quarter.
“They’re explosive and dynamic,” Fairclough said of his receivers. “It’s hard to defend them.”
Strategically, the Green Hornets put Castro and McPherson into motion and an array of offense sets and formations. Sometimes it results in momentary confusion or even missed assignments. In addition, the number of Emmaus offensive weapons means defenses cannot safely key on one or even two players. Often, teams will focus on denying the run, leaving Castro and McPherson adequate opportunities to do their thing.
Overall the Emmaus offense gained 496 yards, with 398 of them coming from the rushing attack. They also moved the sticks 24 times and showed good third-down efficiency, converting seven of 11 times.
Defensively, Emmaus held down Nazareth’s finesse offense enough to win the game, giving up about half of the 40 points. Blue Eagle signal caller Harris has a smooth delivery and can provide migraines for opposing defenses. Although he was effective against Emmaus, he was not dominant, going 16-34 for 219 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions, including one that may have turned the tide. The Nazareth rushing game, which has not been a strength all season, was only a mild menace on this night.
Green Hornet tough guy Timmy Higgins led the resistance with eight tackles, one assist and one quarterback sack. Ntoh joined the hitting party with seven tackles and four assists of his own.
“Defensively I thought we played pretty well,” Fairclough said. “We definitely tackled a little bit better, although there is some room for improvement. Overall I thought we played with a lot of energy. You’re not going to shut down an offense like Nazareth, but we controlled them.”
Most of the time, controlling the other team’s offense is more than adequate for the Green Hornets, who posses an offense that can rain down a deluge of points.