Northampton head football coach Kyle Haas has had a lingering feeling about his team all season.

Last Friday night at Whitehall in a literal last-second, 36-35 loss, he again was reminded about it.

“It is just one of those years,” said the third-year coach. “Things haven’t gone our way. “Our record (1-4) doesn’t show all of our improvement. We wanted to have some more wins for our seniors.

“We got bumped out of the (district) playoffs, and a team that has played three games (Pleasant Valley) gets in. Freedom (an opening 44-20 loss) used an illegal player (resident issues) and there hasn’t been any word about them forfeiting the game.

“We have just come up a little short in too many games.”

In their loss to Whitehall, Zephyrs’ quarterback Quinn Wentling converted a two-point conversion in the closing seconds. Wentling was a one-man wrecking crew as he accounted for 212 yards passing and 183 yards rushing and all five touchdowns overall.

The Konkrete Kids rolled up 312 yards on the ground led by Michael Cruz’s 125 yards.

“Their quarterback killed us,” offered Haas. “On defense, he had 20 tackles. He also was able to convert most of their 18 third downs, many of them long ones. They made plays when they had to make them.

“Last year, they were the more physical team. This year, we physically beat them up and we ran the ball well. Defensively, we had some issues.”

Haas expected his team to take on a new identity this season, and they have. However, this year, the Kids are missing a key element.

“We don’t have a receiver who can stretch the field,” he said. “Over the years, we have had that type of player. We don’t have a Jared Russell or a Tyrese Brandon like we had last year.

“We knew we wouldn’t be a big-play team. We thought we would be a methodical team that would grind it out. For the most part, our kids have responded well.”

Without a game until Thanksgiving against Catasauqua, Haas has entertained the thought of playing a contingency game after the first round of district playoffs this weekend.

He already had spoken to Southern Lehigh and Stroudsburg, both prospective opponents if either of them got knocked out of the playoffs.

“We would like to give our kids two more opportunities for this season,” he said. “We don’t want to play a small school, but one that is similar to us. We want to play teams that have a better record than us.

Haas wants to salute his seniors and also maintain what his program has earned.

“We want to have some more success for our seniors,” he said. “They gave the program some respect. Teams have to prepare for Northampton now. This program is not one that is a doormat and getting mercy-ruled.”