Last Friday, Northampton sophomore quarterback Gavin Taff faced an element he hadn’t dealt with since he took over the reins six games ago – his team was losing 3-0 to host Pocono Mountain West (PMW) at halftime.

“We struggled to do our jobs at the beginning of the game, but we regrouped in the third quarter,” said Taff. “We came out as a different team than we were in the first half.”

The Konkrete Kids responded and reverted back to their season form, as they scored 28 points after halftime and held their opponents scoreless the rest of the way for a 28-3 victory. It was the Kids seventh straight victory, and they locked up the East Penn Conference North title.

Taff completed 12 of 17 attempts for 217 yards with one touchdown against Pocono Mountain West. With each passing game, Taff has increased his confidence.

“I am feeling more and more comfortable,” said Taff. “It is because of my coaches, and the confidence that I continue to build in myself.”

Head coach John Toman has liked what he has seen in Taff, and he also appreciated his team needing to make adjustments.

“It was a great test for us,” said Toman. “PMW came to play and made us work. Credit to them and their coaches. It was good for our kids and coaches to make adjustments and play a second half. Credit also to our kids and coaches for their second half.

“Our defense was solid and kept us in it when our offense struggled.”

Senior running back Caden Henritzy was confident his club could turn on the switch. Henritzy rushed for 66 yards with a touchdown.

“PMW came to play, and we knew they would,” said Henritzy. “We made some adjustments at halftime and came out firing. They did play us tough, and they did give us a challenge in the first half.

“I’m so proud of this team because we haven’t lost a division game in three years. We are unbeaten in the (EPC) North and that’s something special.”

Northampton will travel to East Stroudsburg North Friday. The Wolves are coming off a 38-14 loss to Dieruff and have dropped five straight. Yet, the Kids will work to stay focused.

“They are vastly improved,” beamed Toman. “They appear to have a plan on both sides of the ball and continue to get better.”

Toman also hopes his club can maintain its level after the approximately 75-minute ride to Dingman’s Ferry.

“It’s too far away,” boasted Toman. “We said we should have made it a West Coast trip and stayed in the Poconos for a week.

“But we’ll be all right.”

PREDICTION (Overall record 7-1): Kids have won the last four meetings between the two teams by a combined score of 193-48 ... Backup quarterback A.J. Slivka had 34 yards rushing and wide receiver Mike Coleman had five receptions for 75 yards and fellow receiver Tristan Pinnock had three catches for 85 yards ... Henritzy had four tackles and Colby Reph had three ... ESN’s Romeo Carmen King rushed for 139 yards last week and has 935 for the season. Quarterback Wayne King had thrown for 715 yards and has six touchdowns and 14 interceptions ... Timberwolves have allowed an average of 40 points in their last four game and average 15 ... Kids will have a rivalry game with Whitehall next week, and they can’t be looking ahead. They should learn from last week to avoid a slow start, and they want to keep their North season intact. Look for the Kids to have a big night, and that could ease their long ride home ... Coach Ronalds can pick me some beef and onion pasties from Mr. Pastie if he has some time ... K-KIDS 45-14.