It was billed as the game to decide the East Penn Conference (EPC) North title. By the end of the third quarter, it was thoroughly decided.

Northampton kept its undefeated season (5-0) intact with a convincing 35-0 victory at East Stroudsburg South last Friday. The Kids will now face their first EPC South opponent when they travel to Bethlehem for a 3 p.m. kickoff with Bethlehem Catholic Saturday.

The Kids kept their dominant ground game grinding, as they accumulated 179 yards on the ground and complemented it with 95 yards via the air. Northampton’s defense was stellar again as they collared ES South’s offense to 74 total yards, 22 yards rushing on 22 carries.

Caden Henritzy was the Kids’ leading rusher with 141 yards on 28 carries, scoring a pair of touchdowns. Quarterback Antonino Russo completed five of 11 passes for 95 yards with a touchdown.

Henritzy expected a battle from ES South.

“It is a different type of atmosphere because they always play us tough,” he said. “Our offense played a physical type of game. Those are the kinds of games we like. The offense line opened up holes all night, so we as an offense could do our thing. On defense, we were dominant. We were disciplined in assignments, and that led to them not scoring any points.”

Russo also credited the defense, as well as the offense.

“Our defense has been the rock of our team, and shutting down East Stroudsburg South was big for us,” said Russo. “The defense gave us short field possession and helped us capitalize. Offensively, we need to clean some things up, and that starts with me. I must be cleaner and smoother for us to succeed.

“The (offensive) line has been playing lights out, and Caden has been taking advantage of it early. We need to keep practicing at a high level and keep preparing for teams that we will see in the future.”

Head coach John Toman was ecstatic for his team’s statement win.

“I’m excited for the kids, and also about a mercy rule win over a big North rival,” he stated. “Our offense struggled a little adjusting a little to what they were doing, but they got things going.

“I’m really excited about the defense and how well they played all night. We played complimentary football with the defense giving us the ball in great field position. Anytime you start 5-0, you are excited about the potential.”

Yet, like they have all season, the Kids took another victory in stride.

“I’m not sure that the dominance of the win changes anything for us,” stressed Toman. “I feel the kids are confident in their abilities.”

The Kids will have a rare, late-afternoon tilt with Becahi (3-2), which dropped a 42-12 decision to unbeaten Emmaus (5-0) last Friday.

Toman knows his troops will be ready.

“We’re excited to play a EPC South team,” he said. “We understand the perception of the North versus the South, but we will still take it one day at a time and prepare the same way we always do.”

NOTES AND PREDICTION: The two met in last year’s opener with Northampton taking a late 17-14 victory. It was an emotional game in which former Kids’ coach Kyle Haas faced his former team for the first time ... Russo appears to have taken the lead in the two-quarterback system. AJ Slivka played the fourth quarter and scored on a two-yard run ... Jaelen Richardson, who caught the winning score in last year’s matchup, had three catches for 58 yards and a score against ES South ... Tristen Pinnock has another big game defensively with 4.5 tackles and an interception ... Kids’ defense has allowed 18 points and has two shutouts ... This will be a test for the Kids, depending on how Beca recovers from the Emmaus loss. Beca quarterback Luke Thomas has been slowed by a nagging foot injury, and it has limited his mobility ... Kids’ offense started slow against ES South, but they recovered quickly. Beca defense still remains the mainstay of the team ... There aren’t any signs of the Kids’ offensive and defensive juggernaut dropping a gear. If Kids get out to fast start, it will be hard for Beca to catch up. Both coaches see it as a tight game. It will be, but assistant head coach Kevin Ronalds will have to ship me a cheesesteak and a Greek salad from Doughboys ... K-KIDS, 35-24.