Northampton and Liberty had reach the crossroads of their abbreviated football seasons.

Both entered last Friday’s play with 0-2 records and the plight of a possible district playoff spot hanging in the balance.

Northampton senior Michael Cruz and his teammates decided it was time to take the next step on the team’s senior night.

Cruz rushed for a game-high 105 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead Northampton to a 38-10 victory at Al Erdosy Stadium.

“It’s a big win and a great win for us at home,” said Cruz. “We ran the ball well, and we had the offensive line to thank. They have been doing a great job for us.”

Less than two minutes into the game, Liberty had a 7-0 advantage when senior running back Jaiden Canada scooted around the end 47 yards into the end zone. Canada led the Hurricanes with 100 yards rushing on 10 carries.

Northampton responded with 21 consecutive points on two touchdown runs of Cruz (10, 1) and quarterback Joe Kerbacher’s 48-yard sprint. Liberty closed out their scoring on Sander Sahaydak’s 46-yard field goal.

“We’re struggling and we have to work to be more consistent,” said Liberty head coach John Truby, whose club hosts undefeated Nazareth (5-0) Friday. “We’re a little beat up now, and we may be working in some of our younger players into the lineup.

“We have to keep working.”

The Konkrete Kids rolled up 319 yards rushing on 47 attempts, an aspiring goal for them this season. More importantly, the Kids capitalized on their chances after wasting some of them the previous two weeks.“

“We believe we can be a strong running team,” said Northampton head coach Kyle Haas. “We thought we could run the ball on them. Our line had been doing a better job each week.

“We were able to take advantage of our opportunities against them.”

Northampton took control when Adam Reinhard booted a 43-yard field goal in the third quarter, and Cruz added another 1-yard plunge within the first minute of the final quarter. Owen Baker, who ran for 100 yards, brought back a pass 55 yards for a score that punctuated the night.

The Kids will host Easton (1-2), which lost 7-0 to Bethlehem Catholic last week, before they close out the regular season against rival Whitehall (2-2).

“This was huge for us,” stated Baker. “We know what we are capable of. Whether we win these next two games going into the playoffs will come down to whether we can execute and limit our mental mistakes.

“We are going to do our best to carry our momentum against Easton.”