You know expectations are high when a 32-point win leaves a team thinking that they did not play very well. Such was the case last Friday when the EPC North champion Konkrete Kids ventured into J Birney Crum Stadium and handled their business against Dieruff 48-16.

Head coach John Toman explained, “We missed a lot of opportunities. I thought we were looking ahead to next week because we didn’t play our best game tonight. Ultimately, 48-16, you can’t be sad about that. I feel like this was a little bit of a trap game for us.”

Northampton opened the scoring by converting a 4th and 9 from the Huskies’ 27 when Antonino Russo connected with Caden Henritzy on a throwback screen that the junior running back took all the way to the end zone.

After the next K-Kids’ drive stalled out in Dieruff territory, senior captain Luke Baker got the ball back with his first career interception. He described the moment, “I saw the running back go behind me and felt the linemen not really doing anything, so I knew it was a screen. The ball came over and I was able to pick it off. It was a great moment.”

Northampton cashed in on the turnover when AJ Slivka powered in from the 1-yard line to give the Kids a 14-0 lead.

That lead grew to 21 when Dieruff fumbled the ensuing kickoff for their third turnover of the first quarter and Henritzy scored 4 plays later.

The game was never in doubt, but the Huskies had 4 plays of 29+ yards during the game, enabling them to become the only team from the EPC North to score in double figures against the Northampton defense this season.

As usual, Henritzy was the workhorse for the offense as he toted the ball 23 time for 152 yards. Tristen Pinnock added 49 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Russo was 11 of 17 passing for 119 yards and 3 TDs. Jaelen Richardson snagged two touchdown catches among his 5 receptions for 69 yards.

This week the Kids renew their rivalry with Whitehall. After last year’s 7-0 Northampton win, the teams had a scuffle at midfield. In his postgame talk after beating Dieruff, Toman admonished the players not to engage in any inflammatory rhetoric in the lead-up to this season’s clash.

Baker agreed, “We have to stay focused and just take it one day at time, one practice at a time. It’s a big game against Whitehall and we’re excited, but we have to prepare.”

The Zephyrs have exceeded preseason expectations by posting a 5-4 record this year with wins over Parkland and Central and a narrow 27-19 loss against top-ranked Emmaus. Whitehall has a balanced offense with QB Trey Dogmanits having thrown for 1,291 yards and 14 touchdown and tailback Nigel Linton on the verge of eclipsing the 1,000-yard rushing mark and accounting for 15 TDs.

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Beyond the Cement Bowl bragging rights, Friday’s game has major district playoff seeding implications. Northampton is currently third behind Emmaus and Nazareth, which are both 8-1, but have higher power rankings.

It does not look like the Kids will move up solely by winning their game against the Zephyrs. Assuming a Northampton win, if either the Hornets (at home vs 6-3 Parkland) or the Blue Eagles (at 3-6 Easton) lose, the K-Kids will move up to number 2 and secure two home playoff games. If Emmaus and Nazareth both lose, Northampton will receive the top seed.

If Emmaus and Nazareth both win, NHS will be stuck at 3, according to this reporter’s calculations. Because an Emmaus win means a Parkland loss, there is a good chance the Trojans would be waiting in the quarters as a sixth seed.

The 5, 6, and 7 seeds will be Parkland, Hazelton, and Stroudsburg in some order. Parkland clinches 5 with a win and cannot drop below 6. Stroudsburg (at 6-3 PV) is currently seventh and could get to 6 if Hazleton (7-2) loses to Berwick (4-5).

If Whitehall wins, Northampton will almost certainly drop below Freedom since the Patriots play 1-8 Liberty to close out the regular season. The Kids would still host a district game. They would face either Parkland or Hazelton, whoever is the fifth seed.

The well-informed Northampton Press readers attending the game will understand the implications of the scores as they come from the press box (or the internet) during the game and will be able cheer appropriately.