Northampton head coach John Toman always had the fear that not having his starters play enough full games would come back to haunt his team.

Last Friday night against Whitehall, the haunt began.

The Zephyrs recovered from a 23-17 halftime deficit and edged the Konkrete Kids, 45-44 in overtime when the Kids failed on a two-point attempt to win the game.

The loss snapped Northampton’s eight-game winning streak (8-2), and it was their first defeat since they lost to Allentown Central Catholic, 17-16, in a similar situation.

Northampton will host Stroudsburg Friday night in the opening round of the District 11 Class 6A playoffs.

As far as Whitehall, Toman didn’t have any second thoughts about tying the game in overtime with a likely extra point instead of going for the win.

“No second thoughts,” he deadpanned. “We wanted the win against our rivals, and it was irrelevant to our district seeding. We had (Tristan) Pinnock open on the two-point play, and we just didn’t execute.

“It was do or die. We kick it and go to the next overtime. With nothing on the line, we figured we could give it a shot.”

With his starters pulled from most of their games during their eight-game winning streak due to mercy rulings, Toman wasn’t surprised about his team’s endurance.

“We thought the lack of playing a full game the last eight weeks hurt us,” he admitted. “The kids were gassed. Whitehall has played games like that week after week.”

Kids’ running back Caden Henritzy, who ran for 216 yards and scored two touchdowns, saw a similar situation, but he believed his team could respond.

“It was a tough loss,” said Henritzy. “We have two losses, and they are both by one point apiece in overtime.

“I think not playing a full game throughout the season does affect a team. I do not think it is an excuse why we lost though.”

The Kids will meet Stroudsburg, who they beat 31-0 during the regular season. The Mountaineers enter the postseason with an overall 6-4 record and have won two straight, their latest a 31-7 victory over Pleasant Valley last week.

Northampton will put an emotional loss to Whitehall behind them.

“All our focus is on Stroudsburg,” stressed Toman. “We shut them out earlier this season. We know what we have to do.”

Henritzy and his teammates have reorganized their priorities.

“We are looking to bounce back,” he added. “From this point, moving forward, it is win and move on. We just have to focus on what team we have in front of us and that’s it.”

PREDICTION (Overall record 8-2): This is a rematch of last year’s opening round game in which the Kids won 14-7. Kids then lost to Parkland, 31-13 in semifinals ... Before the game, Northampton had allowed a total of 38 points through nine games and scored 410 ... Kids cornerback A.J. Slivka had a 50-yard pick six, and he scored on a 1-yard run ... Kids’ quarterback Gavin Taff completed nine of 15 for 143 yards with a touchdown and interception, and he had a 21-yard TD run. Taff ran for 33 yards overall ... Kids won the last two meetings, 42-7 last season and 7-0 in 2021. Whitehall edged them in a wild, overtime contest, 36-35, in 2020 ... Stroudsburg quarterback Benjamin Plicher ran for 82 yards and threw for 144, one a 74-yard touchdown pass. Francis scored two rushing touchdowns for the Mountaineers ... Kids gave up 170 yards rushing and 203 passing to Whitehall ... In their loss to Central Catholic, the Kids allowed a total of 243 yards, formerly their largest total all season ... Kids will have another battle with Stroudsburg, but being at Al Erdosy Field will help ... Kids will be focused, conditioned, and fired up after Whitehall loss. Look for Henritzy to have a big role again here, and the Kids’ defense will need to respond ... Can’t see the Kids losing a first-round game, and will be likely taking a trip to Nazareth next week ... Key for them will be the defense to limit Plicher ... Coach Ronalds, I smell a cheesesteak from Sal’s in Wind Gap and you can throw in some fries ... KIDS, 21-7.