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Central Catholic Conquers Emmaus in Late Push

 
Tagged under: District 11, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| October 2, 2026

Late heroics from Janiel Pena and Grayson Schmell, combined with suffocating defensive efforts from the likes of Tahir Edmondson, Lucas Hosak and others, rallied the Vikings to a 17-14 home victory over Emmaus.

Perhaps a bad omen for the Hornets was a fumble on the opening kickoff return, backing Emmaus up to its own 10. But Kellen Hafner and the offense moved right down the field on the next three plays. Hafner hit Mason Lenig for 21 and Jay Santos chugged ahead for 14 in, kicking off his second game back. But on 4th & 8 from the Vikings 36, Central was ready for the handoff to Santos, who was caught in the backfield. The Vikings were quickly held to a three and out and forced to punt it away.

The Vikings defense stepped up on the next possession, with Shaheim Roberts getting a hand on a pass intended for Jamaad Sanders. Had Sanders grabbed it, he probably would’ve gone to the house. As it stood, the Green Hornets opted to punt on 4th & 3 from just across midfield. The Vikings took over with 56 seconds to go in a scoreless first quarter.

Trey Torres-Johnson showed off his abilities, pushing back would-be tacklers for a 12 yard gain that ended the quarter. Tahir Edmondson got behind double coverage and picked up a 37-yard gainer on the pass from Pena. Torres-Johnson motored ahead for ten more, setting up the VIkings at the Emmaus 10. From there, Emmaus stiffened and didn’t allow another yard. Bryson Baker knocked home a 27-yard field goal, giving Central a 3-0 lead with 8:40 to go in the half.

On the ensuing possession, Emmaus turned it over. A short Haffner pass in traffic was punched out. Tahir Edmondson picked it up and ran 65 yards right back to where Central had left off at the Hornets 10. Shane Leyden did his part to try and stop the drive, getting to Pena in the backfield for an eight yard loss. But on the next play, Pena found Schmell over the left side for the score and a 10-0 lead.

Emmaus drove inside the Vikings 40 on their final possession of the first half. Edmondson made his presence felt in the secondary on a deep ball on fourth down, intended for the end zone. He leaped in front of the pass for a huge PBU. ACC tried their own deep ball just before half, but it fell incomplete. The Vikings took their 10-0 lead to the locker room and received to open the second half.

Torres-Johnson got to the outside on the first play of the third quarter and picked up 23 yards, moving the Vikings over midfield. From there, Emmaus held them back one more time, forcing a punt on 4th & 11.

Anthony Attar got his legs going in Emmaus’ first drive of the second half. He took off up the seam for 35 and then picked up gains of 16 and 10. With 5:03 to go in the third, he capped off the drive with a 7-yard score, cutting through a hole over the right side and into the end zone.

The Vikings were running downhill, though. Edmondson gained 29 on a big pass play and Central drove inside the Emmaus 10 once again. However, the Hornets got the stop on a blocked 24-yard field goal that gave them the ball back on their own 26.

A holding call promptly moved the Green Hornets back to their own 16 before Mason Lenig, favorite target on the night of Kellen Hafner, caught a 24-yard pass to put Emmaus in business near midfield. However, Schmell did his part for the home team and helped force a punt.

With with 7:13 to play in regulation, the Vikings took over on their own 5, leading 10-7. A few first downs would significantly shorten the game and perhaps leave Emmaus with little or no time left. But Central gained nothing and was forced to kick it away fomr the end zone. Emmaus took over in prime field position at the Vikings 39. Anthony Attar remained the featured back of the second half and scooted down to the 20. Two plays later, he was into the end zone from 17 yards out, giving Emmaus its first lead of the night at 14-10 with 4:00 to go.

The kickoff was a squib kick and Central took it back to the Hornets 24. On third down, Pena nearly hooked up with Torres-Johnson in the end zone, but the ball passed through his fingertips, with coverage by Legend Vasquez. With just over two minutes left, the Vikings faced 4th & 10. Pena found Schmell going up the left side of the field. Schmell caught the ball and bounced off of Tyler Carmosky and in for the score. With 2:07 left, Central had taken the lead back 17-14.

Emmaus had one final chance off a touchback and took over from their own 20 with still 2:07 to go. After a 15-yard completion to Vasquez, the Hornets went no further. Hafner fumbled a third down snap and lost five yards as the play fell apart. On fourth down, his pass along the sidelines fell incomplete. Central took over on downs with a minute left and the home crowd watched their team win its third consecutive game, sending Emmaus to 2-4.

Central Catholic 17, Emmaus 14

Score by Quarters

Central Catholic – 0 10 0 7 – 17

Emmaus – 0 0 7 7 – 14

Scoring Summary

Second Quarter

ACC – Baker 27-yd field goal, 8:40 9-61

ACC – Schmell 16-yd pass from Pena(Baker kick), 3:55 3-10

Third Quarter

Emm – Attar 7-yd run(Marmaros kick), 5:01 7-80

Fourth Quarter

Emm – Attar 17-yd run(Marmaros kick), 4:00 3-39

ACC – Schmell 25-yd pass from Pena(Baker kick), 2:07 4-76

Passing: ACC – Pena 7-13-102-2-0 Emm – Hafner 18-25-207-0-0

Rushing: ACC – Torres-Johnson 23-125, Eisenhard 1-0, Edmondson 1-(-1), Pena 2-(-6) Emm – Attar 17-125-2, Bermudez 1-1, Santos 8-26, Castro 1-1, Hafner 3-(-6)

Receiving:  ACC – Edmondson 4-68, Schmell 3-42-2 Emm – Mason Lenig 8-84, Vasquez 3-65, Castro 1-7, Sanders 1-8, Attar 1-(-2), Anderson Lenig 4-43

 
 
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