The Emmaus football team fought back from an early deficit in a heartbreaking 27-24 loss to Central Catholic in a game that was suspended Friday night and finished Saturday.

The Vikings took a 17-0 lead in the second quarter and were ahead 24-3 early in the second half before Emmaus began its comeback, tying the game with four straight scores. But a Central Catholic field goal in the final minute of the game sealed the win for the Vikings.

The Hornets trailed 17-3 at halftime after Will Buck made a 21-yard field goal late in the second quarter to get his team on the board.

After the Vikings extended their lead with a third-quarter touchdown, Emmaus quarterback Josiah Williams found Riley Guiffre with a 21-yard pass for a touchdown. Buck hit another field goal to get the score to 24-13, but a lightning delay ended Friday’s portion of the game and the teams returned to Allentown School District Stadium Saturday for the conclusion.

Another Buck field goal opened Saturday’s scoring and got the Hornets within one score. Williams found Cael Kratzer with a 46-yard touchdown pass and Emmaus converted the two-point conversion to tie the game at 24-24 late in the fourth quarter.

The Vikings answered with their only score of the fourth quarter, a 51-yard field goal to win the game in the final minute.

Williams passed for 289 yards in the game, while running for 99 yards on 12 carries. Kratzer had six catches for 102 yards, while Ben Jones (2 receptions, 61 yards) and John Wassel (2 receptions, 51 yards) also eclipsed the 50-yard mark. Williams completed passes to six different players in the game.

On defense, Mario Landino led the way with 13 tackles, including five tackles for loss. Wassel had nine tackles and Jerek Cooper had six.

The loss drops Emmaus to 1-2 after back to back losses to Nazareth (3-0) and Central Catholic (3-0).

The Hornets travel to Whitehall Friday night to take on the 2-1 Zephyrs, which are coming off a 27-0 victory against Easton last week. They have also beaten Allen, but lost their week two contest against Bethlehem Catholic, 34-21.

Whitehall is led by quarterback Trey Dogmanits, who has completed 26 of his 48 passes this season for 446 yards. The senior has thrown six touchdown passes and been intercepted three times.

The Zephyrs’ top receivers have been sophomore Talon Dogmanits (5 catches, 165 yards, 2 TDs), senior Jack Kocher (7-135, TD) and senior Braden Bashore (11-107, 3 TDs).

Dalton Wickel gets most of the carries in Whitehall’s running game, with 27 for 218 yards and four touchdowns this season. Trey Dogmanits had 48 yards and no other Zephyr back has more than 26 yards on the season.

Defensively, junior linebacker Carter Troxell (23 tackles), junior defensive back Brandon Bird (14 tackles) and linebacker Wickel (12 tackles) lead the way, while junior lineman Justus Miles has eight tackles for loss this season.

The Zephyr defense has nine sacks this season and has forced four turnovers. The offense had committed five turnovers.

Less than a week after taking on Whitehall, Emmaus will host Dieruff in a Thursday night game on Sept. 21 to close out the first half of the regular season.