The 2016 season hasn’t gone the way that the Northampton football team had hoped entering fall camp back in August.

Injuries, some bad luck, and a balanced Eastern Pennsylvania Conference from top to bottom with good teams, all have played a part in an 0-10 season to this point. But there are a couple of games left to play, two non-conference games, to possibly gain some momentum heading into next season.

It all starts this week at practice after a loss to Whitehall last weekend.

“First thing after this loss is we’re going to figure out a game plan,” said head coach Mark Scisly. “We have to see how many guys we’re going to have for practice this week and the game, if there’s any injuries. We have to put our guys in the best position to win.”

What hasn’t helped Scisly and his staff is the amount of players he has been without on the field. That is something you can’t prevent, or Xs and Os can’t stop.

“We’re pretty banged up right now,” noted Scisly after the Parkland game. “We have had probably about ten starters out due to injury. We’ve had to count on a lot of young and inexperienced guys to step up. It’s unfortunate that it’s been an injury-filled year, but the kids have continued to play hard, and maintained a positive attitude. They’re practicing hard, and our goal is to get better every week, so we’ll look to finish the year strong.”

The Trojans scored 42 points primarily through their running game two weeks ago and Whitehall put up 52.

“I thought that this was the best team that we played all year,” Scisly added about Parkland. “Their offensive line was just so physical at the point of attack, and it helped their running backs get a lot of yardage, not that they needed help. [Jahan] Worth and [Nick] Suriel are great backs and are tough to bring down. Their defense is physical, all around, I just can’t imagine how they even lost this year. They’re the real deal.

“I thought our kids came out hard at the beginning, but couldn’t finish all 48 minutes. We did a decent job of fighting though. When you’re playing a team that good, it’s tough if you don’t play well for all four quarters.”

Next the Kids will take on Pope John Paul II Friday, and finish the year with the annual Thanksgiving Day game against Catasauqua, which this year is on the road.

It’s two more chances to end the season with a positive taste heading into the offseason and 2017.