Northampton head football coach Kyle Haas doesn’t want a repeat of his team’s meeting with Whitehall last season.

It was a historical one for the Konkrete Kids, who snapped a 32-game losing streak against an East Penn Conference (EPC) South team with their 43-37 shootout victory over the Zephyrs. The Kids last defeated an EPC South team in 2012 when they downed Bethlehem Catholic, 35-6.

Instead, Haas would rather have a slower track Friday night at Whitehall where the Zephyrs (2-3) have kept their high-octane offense filled the past few weeks. They are coming off a 38-28 loss to Emmaus.

The Kids (1-3) also face a near must-win situation to stay in the hunt for one of the eight district berths in Class 6A. His team suffered a 21-14 setback against Easton last week.

“I don’t want us to sneak in the back door,” said Haas in reference to still possibly earning a spot with a loss. “We want to close out the year and beat Whitehall.

“When I looked at the film, I believe we got out-hustled by Easton. They seemed to want it more than we did. It was a play here and a play there. We had a field goal blocked and had a kickoff return for a touchdown. That’s a 10-point swing. Easton’s running back scored six touchdowns in the district game last year, and this year we helped him to one. They had a good middle linebacker and their kids played a different level and caused a lot of havoc.”

Haas evaluated his team’s performances in their defeats.

“Each week, we have learned a valuable lesson on how to win in the EPC South,” said Haas. “Against Freedom, we weren’t mentally prepared and spotted them 30 points. We had too many mental mistakes against Nazareth, and we got out-hustled against Easton.

“We need to put it all together to catapult us into the playoffs. This is a good time for us to get on a run, and we want to give these 12 seniors as many games as we can. They have been in the program for three years.”

Haas knows his team will need to clamp down the Whitehall offense and play ball control.

“Whitehall poses some problems for us,” he said. “They have a really good quarterback and are a heavy RPO (run-pass option) team. Their quarterback runs it well, and they mix in their running backs.

“We need to keep them off the field, and we don’t want to get into a shootout.”

The Kids will be ready for an intense battle in a game that slowly is developing into a backyard battle.

“They played really well against Emmaus,” noted Haas. “Both schools know that the amount of fans have increased around the game, and it has become intense.

“This is good for the rivalry, and it’ll be fun.”

PREDICTION: This does have all the trimmings of an outstanding game. Both teams mirror each other about being able to capitalize on opportunities and to finish games. Haas has been pleased with the play of his defense, and they have to get back to heavily running the ball. Whitehall quarterback Quinn Wentling has developed into a quality dual threat who can cause trouble running and passing the ball. Kids still could back into districts, but they need this one as a momentum builder into the postseason. Fasten your seat belts for this one...NORTHAMPTON, 31-17