For the Northampton football team in their scrimmage against Bethlehem Catholic last week, it was all about staying healthy for their season opener at Allentown Central Catholic Friday night.

Head coach John Toman held out most of his starts, as senor running backs Caden Henritzy and Tristan Pinnock, both of whom figure prominently in the team’s scheme, didn’t see any action.

“We didn’t play all of our kids because we didn’t wan to get them hurt,” said Tomam. “But we did want our kids to hit someone else and learn about themselves.

“It was a good opportunity to get a look at some of our kids. We’re healthy, and that was our goal. We weren’t concerned about winning or losing.”

Toman complimented the play of lineman Brandon Gable and end Bo Wheeler.

“Braydon Gable was a nice surprise and took a lot of reps showing he can contribute,” added Toman. “Wheeler started at tight end and did a great job at defensive end.”

Northampton finished with a 12-1 slate last season, and the Konkrete Kids season ended in a second-round district playoff game loss to Parkland. They did capture the East Penn Conference (EPC) North crown for the third consecutive year.

Senior A.J. Slivka will be the full-time starter at quarterback this fall after he saw some time there last year. The Kids have a number of returnees on both side of the ball.

They will meet Allentown Central Catholic, which has won three-straight District 11 Class 4A titles and advanced to the state semifinals last year. Longtime veteran area coach Rob Melosky has taken over the helm of the Vikings’ program.

The Vikings will have a number of linemen and skill people back, notably lineman Braheem Battle and running Back Nasir McLean. Kyle Fleishman will be a first-year starter at quarterback. Central Catholic is considered to be among the top 10 teams in Class 4A.

“We saw their scrimmage, and they didn’t really show anything,” added Toman about Central Catholic. “Their defensive line is anchored by Braheem Battle, who we have to contain.

“Their skills show on film, and we expect them to go up tempo.”

PREDICTION: This will be the first time the two teams will meet since 2015, when Central Catholic beat Northampton, 48-26. It was the eighth-straight loss to Central Catholic dating back to 2009, as most of the defeats were lopsided in Central’s favor. Northampton’s last victory against Central Catholic was in 2008 by a 14-2 score ... Kids will look to defeat an EPC South to dispel rumors again about their ability to beat teams from the South ... The Kids are hungry to win a district title, and most of this group has played together for a long time ... The last time Northampton was in a district final was in 1989 when they lost, 9-8, to Whitehall. They won an Eastern Conference championship in 2000 when they beat Emmaus, 6-0 ... Kids will face a stern test with Central, and they will have to win the line of scrimmage, which will be major showdown ... Henritzy can be the game-changer here because of the first-year starters at quarterback for both teams ... Kids’ defense will also need to raise their bar ... Looks like a tight game, but, I like the Kids here ... Assistant head coach Kevin Ronalds knows I like the cheesesteaks at Sal’s in Wind Gap ... K-KIDS, 20-14.