EMMAUS — Pleasant Valley won the battle in time of possession.

But Emmaus’s quick-strike attack was able to win the war.

All three of the Hornets’ touchdowns in the second half were on one-play drives, which helped them pull away from Pleasant Valley for a 41-0 Eastern Pennsylvania Conference victory Friday night,

“They are what they are—a big-time EPC South team,” Pleasant Valley head coach Blaec Saeger said. “They are big. They are strong. They are fast. They are well-coached. They are everything that we want to be. And that’s the way football is down here. Everybody can do everything. For us to hang, and fight, and scratch, and claw to keep them at 21-0 at halftime was good.”

While Emmaus jumped in front early with three touchdowns in the first quarter, Pleasant Valley (0-4) was able to own an advantage in time of possession. It unfortunately resulted in zero points in five first-half drives, three of which ended in a turnover-on-downs.

The Hornets (3-1), meanwhile, carved big chunks of offense from the opening whistle. Brandon Camire—who ran for 124 yards on nine carries—capped Emmaus’s first drive with a 23-yard touchdown run.

About five minutes later, Hornet quarterback Jake Moyer hit wide receiver Jared Green on a 4-yard bubble screen that put Emmaus in front 14-0 with 4:46 left in the quarter.

Pleasant Valley would punt on its next possession after losing a yard in its three plays from scrimmage. Camire would then find the end zone once again on a 21-yard touchdown run around the left side of Emmaus’s line.

“The offense grinded out yards and grinded out time all game long,” Saeger said. “The scoreboard is what it is, but compared to the way the last couple of weeks were going and who [Emmaus] is, I’m pretty happy. We can take this and build on it. Our kids realize we are getting better.”

Emmaus ran just three plays in the third quarter, whereas Pleasant Valley had 16 credited to its name. The Hornets, however, scored on all three of those offensive snaps.

Camire’s final carry of the game – Emmaus’s first offensive play of the third quarter – went 39 yards to the house for a 28-0 lead. Then, after Pleasant Valley bobbled the ensuing kickoff and lost a fumble, Moyer and Adam Heiserman connected for a 25-yard touchdown pass.

A promising drive for the Bears ended up in Emmaus’s red zone during a lengthy 11-play drive. But after a turnover-on-downs handed the ball back over to the Hornets, Moyer threw his third touchdown of the game – an 83-yard catch and run by Jameel Sanders—to put the nail in the coffin.

“The turnovers are killing us,” Saeger said. “We were moving the ball so well. I don’t know that we did punt … Other than that it was turnovers. It was fumbling the ball, even if we didn’t lose it, and just setting us back. We definitely have to clean it up. But we are a young team in a brand-new offense that if you’re not great at it, it’s prone to fumbles.”

ALL PRAISE FOR PAPALEO

... Sophomore quarterback Robert Papaleo started for the Bears on Friday night after their starter was injured in last week’s game. In his first start at quarterback, Saeger was pleased with Papaleo’s ability to run Pleasant Valley’s option offense. “We definitely squeezed the package for Robert,” Saeger said. “I’m so proud of him. He did such an amazing job going out there and running the thing. The first drive or two he was a little shell-shocked, but he figured things out and starting to catch up to speed. This is the first game he’s ever played quarterback in his life.”

WHO’S UP NEXT?

... Pleasant Valley will host Dieruff in Week 5 next Friday at 7 p.m. Both teams are searching for their first win of the season.