“We came into their house and they were the number one seed. It was the first time in a while that they were the number one seed,” safety and wide receiver for the Emmaus Hornets Rafael Terrero said.

The Hornets took down the Easton Red Rovers in a close game, where the Hornets defense held down the Red Rovers high-flying offense. 

The Easton Red Rovers were this season’s one-seed, meaning that they performed the best out of all teams in their regional group during the regular season. In the contentious game, The Hornets came out on top beating the Red Rovers 20-19 due to a failed Red Rovers two point conversion in the waning minutes of the game. 

The Hornets scored the first points of the game with a field goal, and from there the game went back and forth with the Red Rovers—both teams making game-altering plays. In the second half, the Hornets made a drastic attempt to prevent a safety from the 3-yard line, which turned into a 97-yard touchdown from star running back, Reilly Bechtel.

In the fourth quarter, quarterback Cole Ordway threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jasir Frutchery who caught the ball over an Emmaus defender. This pass brought Easton within a point where they went for the two-point conversion to win the game. 

The Hornets called a timeout to reset the defense, and when the ball was snapped Ordway faced pressure from linebacker Samuel Stephan, and sailed the pass over the receiver’s head. The Hornets won the game 20-19 and will be advancing to the district finals.

The Hornets will now play the Parkland Trojans in the District XI 6A Finals at Whitehall. The winner will take the district title and go on to the state tournament.