Before the season began Northampton’s football team figured it would be a different one.

The Konkrete Kids won and dominated the East Penn Conference (EPC) North Division for the past three seasons with an overall 33-5 record under head coach John Toman. Northampton faced the calls that they couldn’t consistently beat the team in the EPC South Division, and they usually incurred early exits against those teams in the postseason.

This year, the Kids began play in the revamped EPC Northampton County Division, and they faced the likes of former opponents Easton, Liberty, Bethlehem Catholic, and Nazareth on their schedule. Northampton finished the regular season with an overall 5-6 mark.

With the 58-14 rout of Catasauqua, the Kids evened their mark at 6-6, avoiding their first losing season (aside from the shortened 2020 1-4 COVID campaign) since 2017 when they were 4-8.

It was the 10th straight win in the Thanksgiving Day matchup for the Kids, and they raised their overall mark to 64-33-4 in the 101-game series.

Going through their learning curve this season, the Kids are well aware of what’s ahead for the future.

“We ended on a positive note and a 6-6 overall season,” said Toman. “It definitely was a learning experience for the staff and players. We had to learn to prepare for meaningful games every week.”

The Kids will lose Bill Struhldreher, who rushed for over 1,000 yards, in the backfield, and wide receiver Tymir Williams, who was the team’s leading receiver with 35 catches for 528 yards and five touchdowns. Struhldreher ran for a game-high 109 yards and two touchdowns against Catasauqua.

Quarterback Gavin Taff and running back Zeke Spencer both will be back for their senior seasons. Spencer scored two touchdowns and 81 yards on 15 carries against Catasauqua. Wide receiver Cameron Hersch, who caught two touchdowns passes from Taff against Catty, caught 30 passes for 416 yards, will also be back for his final season.

On defense, leading tackler Owen Stanchock will return.

Toman is anxious to see what Taff can produce his final season after being the starter the past two years. Taff completed 113 of 203 attempts for 1,302 yards with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions.

“Gavin Taff continued to progress against far better competition than years past,” added Toman. “His two full-years experience should go a long way his senior season.”

Toman also was pleased that he got to clear his bench against Catasauqua, as the Kids amassed 26 points in the third quarter.

“As for Thanksgiving, it was our goal to get all 70 in uniform onto the field and play. After our third score, we let our JV extra-point team go on and kick the extra point. We were able to work in players in the second half, and that was a good thing for the future.”

With a solid core returning, Toman is confident about the future, as he team will enter the second season of the Northampton County Division.

“We will be playing the same schedule next year, and East Stroudsburg South and Parkland both won district titles,” noted Toman. “We feel good about the players returning and experience we are bringing back.

“It will be a huge challenge, but we will be looking forward to it.”