For Gavin Taff and his teammates, their recent win over Whitehall was a worthwhile one.

With their solid 41-10 victory over the Zephyrs, the Konkrete Kids have found an increased sense of direction, especially with a win over their rival in the annual Cement Bowl

It also was a major relief and refuel after two consecutive defeats.

“We had a lot of energy coming into the game because of the struggles we went through the past couple of games,” said Taff, who was an efficient 8 for 11 for 129 yards and a pair of touchdowns. “The loss last year also gave us a reason to want this win even more. This game was the turnaround for our team moving forward. The energy on this team is the best it’s been.”

Head coach John Toman liked what he saw from his quarterback, who had some inconsistencies the past two games. Against Whitehall, Taff also ran for 79 yards with a touchdown.

“Gavin has a nice bouce-back game,” said Toman. “He threw the ball well and added his feet. He did a great job checking into the pays we wanted.”

Running back Billy Stuhldreher, who ran for 75 yards on 18 carries, saw the Whitehall win as a chance to redeem themselves. He knew the new Northampton Conference format would present a challenge, notably after recent losses for Parkland and Liberty.

“We have been through a couple of battles so far, but that’s what we expected coming into this new conference,” stressed Stuhldreher. “We had many missed opportunities against Parkland and Liberty, but felt we started to cash in on them against Whitehall.

“It was a great team win, and everyone did their part. You can’t ask for anything more than that.”

Stuhldreher understands that the road ahead won’t be any smoother. Yet, the Kids (3-2) can gain some momentum hosting Pocono Mountain West (1-4), which has lost three straight. They then have Easton, Nazareth, Freedom, and Bethlehem Catholic.

“The rest of the season is going to be a war every week,” he said. “We need to have a good week of practice every week and come ready to play hard until the end.”

Wide receiver Tymir Williams, who caught three passes for 54 yards with a touchdown, also believes the worst is behind his team.

“We had two rough games back-to-back, so we needed this win,” said Williams. “The game was not only big for us, but it also was big for the community. It is a rival game, and we came up short last year. Nobody wanted to feel that again.

“Being hurt last year and seeing the team lose just motivated me this year to help us bring the trophy back.”