Heading to East Stroudsburg South last weekend, Northampton knew it didn’t have an easy task ahead.

In fact, the Konkrete Kids got their first character test of the season.

The Kids rallied from a 21-6 deficit to score 18 unanswered points for a 24-21 victory. Aaron Gutkowski booted an 18-yard field goals a time ran out for the win. It was his third of the game.

Kids’ head coach John Toman was proud of his team’s fight in the midst of an emotional night for the host Cavaliers, who dedicated their stadium in memory of longtime head coach Ed Christian. Cavalier’s running back Charles Capers rushed for 202 yards and had three touchdowns.

“With everything that went on up there, it could have easy to fold down 21-6,” reflected Toman. “But we kept fighting.

“East Stroudsburg South gave us everything we could handle. We didn’t play our best, but still found a way to win. I’m proud of the fight our team showed falling behind 21-6, but scoring 18 straight points.”

Toman credited his defense for their resiliency.

“Our defense struggled early, and we played a ton of players,” he added. “We were once again trying to find the right combo to stop them. They finally got a key turnover on their final possession to set up the winning field goal.”

“It shows that our team isn’t a team to just lay down and let a team run all over us when things aren’t going our way,” said QB Gavin Taff. “We were able to fix the mistakes and finish the game off the way it should have been in the beginning.”

The head coach also praised backup quarterback Aiden Hess, whose running ability was a plus.

“We used Aiden Hess’s feet to get us started when we were struggling,” noted Toman. “(Starting quarterback) Gavin Taff had his biggest throw of the night to set up the tying two-point play.

“All in all, it was a great team effort to get to 2-0.”

Toman sees a major hurdle ahead with Parkland (1-1) Friday night, which is coming off a 301-13 loss to Freedom.

“Parkland is coming off a loss and is going to be hungry,” stressed Toman. “This will be a big challenge for us. We’re excited to play of the best programs in District 11.”

PREDICTION (Season record 2-0): The two teams last met in 2002 in a district playoff game in which Parkland posted a 31-13 victory ... Hess ran for 101 yards on 12 carries, and Billy Stuhldreher ran for 111 yards on 23 carries. The Kids ran for a total of 226 yards on 39 carries ... Joey High had three receptions for 41 yards ... Gutkowski’s longest field goal was 38 yards ... Zander Rickert led the Kids with six tackles, and Sincere Wadlington, Noah Kline, and Owen Stanchock, each had five stops ... Parkland quarterback Osmany Guzman completed 17 of 29 passes for 187 yards with an interception, and running back T.J. Lawrence ran for 81 yards ... This may be one of the best games of the year. Parkland lost a lot from last season, and the Trojans may be transitioning in what may be a year of parody in the East Penn Conference with the new county alignment ... Al Erdosy Stadium should be electric as the Kids and their home crowd will look to defeat a longtime nemesis. The Kids need to avoid the slow start from last week, and Parkland could find itself in an early hole ... This is a tough call, but there will be something in the Northampton air Friday night and early Saturday morning ... Assistant head coach Kevin Ronalds can pick me up a tomato pie from Roseto ... K-KIDS, 27-14.