It has been a couple of years since the Emmaus High School football team got the better of its rival Parkland on the gridiron. Four years to be exact. The last time the Green Hornets were victorious over the Trojans was on October 28, 2016, almost four years ago to the day of when the two teams would meet again in 2020.

On that night, the Emmaus defense held strong and kept Parkland out of the end zone late in the game on a couple of stuffs near the goal line to finish the game off, stopping Jahan Worth before storming the field.

A similar ending to the latest edition of the Cedar Crest Boulevard rivalry happened again last Friday night as the Green Hornets defense came up big late and stuffed the Trojans offense to hold onto a 13-6 win in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference regular season finale at Parkland School District stadium.

Emmaus earned the Lehigh County Division title and clinched the two seed in this week’s District 11 6A Tournament, improving their record to 5-0 overall along the way. The Hornets will host the seventh seed, Easton, on Friday night. Parkland fell to 3-1 and is the fifth seed in districts, traveling to take on fourth-seeded Stroudsburg Friday.

“This is what high school football is all about,” said head coach Harold Fairclough after the win. “Playing great defense, getting big stops when you needed them, kids making big plays. It was a hard-fought win and we’re happy. Anytime you can beat your rival and a quality opponent like Parkland, you have to enjoy it.”

The Green Hornets led by that 13-6 score late in the fourth quarter, but Parkland was just 3 yards away from the end zone with 3:55 left. Then four straight runs, including three by one of the state’s top running backs in Isiah Rico, produced just one yard. Emmaus defender Kordell Waiters made the tackle from the backside on fourth down to secure the advantage.

Parkland got one more chance on offense before the clock ran out, but Jameel Sanders knocked the ball away from a Parkland wide receiver heading towards the end zone to secure the win. The Trojans were held to their lowest scoring total since the 2016 season. A lack of points and an abundance of penalties (11 for 95 yards) doomed Parkland Friday.

“You can’t win a game with that many penalties and you also can’t win when you can’t score from the 1-yard line,” said head coach Tim Moncman. “So, we have a lot of things to fix.”

All of the scoring came in the second quarter. Emmaus seized the lead with two field goals by Alex Orlando and a 69-yard touchdown pass from Jake Fotta to Aiden Dougherty. Rico had an 18-yard touchdown run that put Parkland ahead briefly 6-3 after the PAT failed.

The Trojans defensive unit was stout all night. They came up with two interceptions from Jayden Sanchez and Nico Medlar, and held Emmaus to just 31 yards rushing.

“Defensively, I thought we played very well,” Moncman said. “The good news is we still have a three-game season left. That’s how it is for everybody. But we need to fix the penalties. Maybe that’s a factor of not playing a lot of games. That hurts you a little bit. No excuses. [Emmaus] was the better team tonight.”

Parkland will make its 10th straight appearance in districts beginning this weekend. The Trojans won six straight district titles between 2013-18 and have 10 titles overall. Parkland has also clinched its 25th winning season in the last 27 years.

The Trojans are the fifth seed and will travel to take on the fourth seed, Stroudsburg, on Friday night at Stroudsburg High School.