The Northampton football team closed out a gauntlet of games against three of the best teams in Pennsylvania with a 47-21 loss to Nazareth last Friday at Andrew S Leh Stadium.

The K-Kids had no answers for the Blue Eagles two big offensive stars as quarterback Peyton Falzone threw for 300 yards and gained 135 yards on the ground on 6 carries, while tailback Marquez Wimberly had 105 yards rushing, 133 yards receiving and scored 5 touchdowns.

Nazareth had five plays of over 50 yards, including a 60-yard run by Falzone and TD passes of 72 and 75 yards by the junior, who has verbally committed to Virginia Tech.

The Kids only trailed 20-14 with 1:26 left in the first half, but the Blue Eagles got the big play from Falzone to Wimberly before the intermission and scored touchdowns on their first 3 drives in the second half to put the game away.

“It’s tough (to match up with Falzone and Wimberly) and we didn’t tackle well at all tonight although I can’t explain it,” lamented head coach John Toman. “We tackled well at the beginning of the year and we’re not tackling well right now. When you don’t tackle, stuff like that happens.”

Offensively, the K-Kids were able move the ball effectively, especially on the ground. They piled up 267 yards rushing on 48 carries. Billy Stuhldreher was once again the workhorse as he toted the ball 21 times in the first half alone for 122 yards and a touchdown on his way to 160 for the game.

However, Stuhldreher finished the game as a spectator on crutches. His status for Friday’s game is uncertain. If he is unable to go, Northampton will turn to Zeke Spencer as the primary back. The junior rushed for 87 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries against Nazareth and had a 53-yard kickoff return.

The Kids’ passing game was limited to 91 yards, but Gavin Taff and Tymir Williams did hook up for 37-yard touchdown on a post route midway through the third quarter for Northampton’s final touchdown of the night. Taff finished 9 of 19 with one touchdown and Williams totaled 3 receptions for 53 yards.

The regular season finale is a home game tomorrow against Bethlehem Catholic. The Kids and Golden Hawks sport identical 4-5 records and are both winless in the EPC East/Northampton Division.

While Becahi has clinched a district berth in 4A, Northampton is clinging to the 8th and final spot in 6A. A win would most likely vault them into the 7 seed, but a loss would potentially put them at the mercy of the district power ranking formula. Dieruff at 4-5 is ninth and finishes with traditional rival Allen (2-7).

The belief around the Northampton program is that they would still make districts with a loss and a Dieruff win. District XI won’t make anything official until after the Huskies and Canaries play on Saturday.