Trailing by two touchdowns heading into the fourth quarter, the Emmaus football team was unable to climb out of the hole in falling to Phillipsburg 24-10 last Friday night in a nonconference game and home opener for the 2026 regular season at East Penn School District Stadium.

It was the second straight defeat for the Hornets (0-2 overall) to begin the season, as they lost to Neshaminy the previous Friday night on the road in another nonconference game.

Phillipsburg used the ground-and-pound method to drive down the field. While the Stateliners finished with just 104 yards through the air on eight attempts, compared to Emmaus’ 163 yards on 25 attempts, it was the rushing attack that wore down the Hornet defense.

The Liners ran for 218 yards on 46 carries, while Emmaus rushed 15 times for 38 yards.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Stateliners were the first to reach the end zone thanks to a one-yard run by Xavier Campbell-Graham.

The score was 7-0 at halftime before Phillipsburg scored in the third quarter when Amir Heath caught a 29-yard pass from Dominic Bracco for a 14-0 lead after three.

The Hornets points on the scoreboard thanks to a 27-yard field goal by George Marmaros.

But on the Stateliners next possession they added to the lead with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Bracco to David Pacewicz and the advantage climbed to 21-3.

The hosts continued to fight as they then connected on a touchdown on a 76-yard pass from Kellen Hafner to Ty Laird to cut the deficit to 21-10.

Phillipsburg added a late 27-yard field goal to cap the scoring.

Hafner finished with 169 yards through the air and the score. Anthony Attar rushed 12 times for 50 yards and caught three passes for 16 yards. Jamaad Sanders had two catches for 50 yards.

Defensively, Nik Castro led the unit with 11 tackles, while both Will Daves and Mason Lenig tallied seven tackles. Tyler Carmosky had four tackles and recovered a fumble.

Emmaus has one more nonconference game before things pick up in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. The Hornets will host Scranton this Friday night. The Knights are 0-2 after losing to Pocono Mountain West and North Pocono the first two weeks.