They weren’t the purple people eaters, but the Allentown Central Catholic Vikings ate up the Emmaus Green Hornets last Friday night at East Penn School District Stadium in a 35-17 victory.

Coming off a 30-point drubbing at the hands of Easton and playing on four days rest, the Vikes broke on top and never trailed in securing the win. The loss dropped Emmaus to 4-3, while ACC improved to 4-3.

“We just did not play our best football,” said Emmaus head coach Harold Fairclough. “I’m not one to make excuses.”

It is rare to see Fairclough’s team lose at the line of scrimmage, but that was the case Friday night. The Vikings controlled the line of scrimmage and protected quarterback Matt Rauscher. The junior signal-caller responded by connecting on 13 of 16 passes 203 yards and two touchdowns.

Both touchdown passes went to wide receiver George Hlavac, who amassed 121 yards on four receptions.

In the first period, Rauscher hit Hlavac on a 32-yarder to give ACC a 7-0 lead. The second touchdown pass came late in the third quarter. With the Vikes leading 21-10, Rauscher stood tall in the pocket and threw a 55-yard scoring toss to Hlavac. The score put the Central Catholic ahead 28-10 and put the game out of reach.

If the Vikings had their quarterback position settled on this night, the Green Hornets did not. Emmaus signal-caller Jacob Moyer struggled in this one, completing 4-of-13 passes for 55 yards. He threw two interceptions, which stymied the Green Hornet offensive attack and helped ACC lead at halftime,14-3.

Fairclough called on Alex Lanzone in the second half. The junior began the season as the Green Hornet starter, but Moyer took over the duties and had performed well in his first few games. Lanzone tossed 22 passes against ACC, completing 11 for 162 yards and two touchdowns.

“I just think we left a bunch of plays on the field that we needed,” said Fairclough when asked why he made the change.

Wide receiver Jameel Sanders caught five passes for 105 yards, including a 13-yard score in the fourth quarter. His pass-catching counterpart Chad Newhard caught three balls for 39 yards. One of those receptions went for a 14-yard score. Both receptions closed the ACC lead to 11 points, but both were countered by Vikings touchdowns that pushed the lead back to 18 points and proved to be the final margin.

The Green Hornets got another outstanding performance by running back Brandon Camire, who carried the rock 25 times for 128 yards. He also caught four passes for 53 yards.

But there was one thing that dogged the Emmaus offense all night.

“We didn’t have that one big play we normally make,” Fairclough said.

Defensively, linebacker Connor Carter paced the squad with nine tackles. Fellow linebacker Jared Groller made seven tackles. Overall, however, Fairclough noted the defense “didn’t execute.” More often than not, the defensive line “did not play with leverage” and ceded ground. The linebackers and cornerbacks also didn’t make enough “plays on the edges.”

Emmaus also was assessed 153 yards in seven penalties.

Emmaus actually outgained Central Catholic 349-322 yards and earned more first downs (19-16). But the Vikings played with a focus and intensity for 48 minutes. They executed their assignments more often than not and played a solid football game.

Emmaus next goes east to Bethlehem Area School District Stadium for a 7 p.m. Friday kickoff against the Freedom Patriots (6-1).

Freedom, the defending District 11 Class 6A champ, beat previously-undefeated Easton last week. The Patriots only loss this season came against Nazareth, 35-33 back on Sept. 13.

“They’re a very good football team,” Fairclough said. “We need to play with energy and effort to win.”