There’s a saying that goes they don’t ask how; they ask how many.

In that context, the Emmaus football team’s 31-28 win over the Liberty Hurricanes last Friday night at East Penn School District Stadium was all that matters. But there’s another saying that is also appropriate - It don’t come easy.

“We played hard and it was a good for us coming off the loss,” said Hornet head coach Harold Fairclough.

The Green Hornets were outgained (301-367 yards), secured fewer first downs (13-18) and ran fewer offensive plays (57 -69) than Liberty. Emmaus had a commanding 31-14 lead in the fourth period.

The Hurricanes’ offense scored two touchdowns to close the margin to three points, but Emmaus (4-2, 2-2) held on when the chips were down.

Through six games, there is no question the most valuable Emmaus offensive weapon has been running back Brandon Camire. He created another memorable moment in the first period, opening the scoring with a 91-yard touchdown run. On the play, Camire received good blocking, including a quality downfield block from wide receiver Jameel Sanders.

With Emmaus trailing 14-10 in the third quarter, Camire gave the Green Hornets some much-needed momentum with several good runs. He did the honors on a 1-yard run to give his team a 17-14 advantage. It was a lead Emmaus would never relinquish.

His touchdown started a 21-point Emmaus explosion that encompassed the rest of the third period and into the fourth. On the last play of the third quarter, quarterback Jake Moyer hit wideout Jake Ogutu from the midfield stripe to put Emmaus up 24-14.

In the fourth quarter, Camire had a glorious punt return for a 63-yard touchdown. The return, at the 6:46 mark, gave the Hornets a 31-14 lead and appeared to decide the game.

“Brandon did a good job setting up his blocks,” said Fairclough. “We practice hard on special teams and it paid off.”

But if Emmaus thought the matter was settled, Liberty (2-4) thought otherwise.

Quarterback Dallas Holmes threw two touchdown passes, the latter to Jaiden Canada, to close it to 31-28. However, the Hornets recovered an onside kick and then ran out the clock.

Canada tormented the Green Hornets’ defense all night, gaining 108 yards on 23 carries and scoring two touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 36 yards and the previously mentioned touchdown reception.

The Emmaus defense had its hands full with Canada, but overall slowed down the Hurricane offense enough. Jared Groller and Chad Newhard led the unit with six tackles each. Adam Heiserman and Kamron Bertie each added five tackles.

“We thought going into the year that Chad was going to step up,” the coach said of Newhard. Bertie has been more of a pleasant surprise. A young man who has worked hard to become a Green Hornet contributor.

“He is working his tail off,” Fairclough said of Bertie. “He had a good summer camp and is being pretty consistent this year.”