The Parkland Trojan football team finally got into the win column last Friday night with a 28-0 victory over Northampton in a Lehigh Valley Conference matchup. The win comes after two tough losses by a combined nine points.

"I congratulated them, and I was excited that we got our first win," said head coach Jim Morgans. "I told them to soak it in for a little while, and then get ready for next week. I also told them that we are capable of scoring and capable of more. We just can't take stupid penalties and turn the ball over. We're not going to beat really good football teams by turning the ball over. We're fortunate that our defense saved us last game. They really stepped up and did an outstanding job."

The defense pitched a shutout and the offense got going in the second half. Now the Trojans can carry some momentum into a tough showdown with the Liberty Hurricanes Friday night at Orefield Middle School.

The Hurricanes (0-3, 0-2) bring a high powered offense led by quarterback Doug Elder and wide receivers Boise Ross and K.J. Williams. Liberty lost in a shootout a week ago to Nazareth 49-42.

"They're a good football team," said Morgans. "Williams, he's like 6'3" and 200 pounds who returns kicks and punts and can really catch the ball. He does everything for them. Boise Ross is a good player as well. Liberty is just a real good football team. We're preparing the best that we can. We feel that we definitely have an opportunity. We've got great kids, so if we just play the way that we're capable of playing, we will be okay."

Morgans added the best defense for his team will be for his offense to keep the ball and control the clock. The way to do that is to establish the run. Morgans has the assets to do that. Quarterback Tim Baranek rushed for two touchdowns last week, and Jarel Elder and Eli Redmond both accounted for a score.

"That's been our philosophy, trying to establish the run," said Morgans. "We feel that we have some very good skill players, and we feel that Timmy [Baranek] is getting better throwing the ball. So we have that weapon also."

A win would put Parkland (1-2, 1-1) over .500 in the conference, and hurt the Hurricanes' chances at a district playoff berth.

"We have two losses, and it would be great to get back on a winning streak," Morgans said. "We're looking at keeping the ball rolling. We know what winning feels like now. Hopefully that makes the kids hungry to get another win."