Northampton’s blowout 61-8 victory over East Stroudsburg North last Friday night was more than just a walkaway victory for the undefeated Konkrete Kids (4-0).

It helped bring closure to the loss of offensive coordinator Mike Gurdineer, a coach, friend, and mentor to all. Gurdineer passed away Spet. 8 due to complications from COVID-19.

“Friday’s game was a culmination of a very emotional week for coaches and players,” said Kids’ head coach John Toman. “The players attended the public services for coach Gurdineer earlier in the day.

“We honored coach Gurdineer by wearing T-shirts that we made for him.”

From the start, the Kids completely overwhelmed the Timberwolves, scoring 41 points in the opening quarter on four offensive touchdowns, a fumble recovery for a score, and three safeties.

Twelve different players had at least one carry with Jacob McDermott leading the way with 43 yards. Leading rusher Caden Henritzy had just one carry for 23 yards. Henritzy was the East Penn Conference’s third-leading rusher before the game,

Quarterback Cooper King completed four of six passes for 65 yards with a touchdown.

“The kids came out, executed, and took care of business,” added Toman. “We couldn’t ask for anything more under those circumstances.

“No one carried more than four times. I thought it was a good week to share the carries. Our starting offense only got about 12 reps.”

Toman believed his team could dominate.

“Someone said we broke a record for most points in a quarter with 41,” stated Toman. “Our defense was on point, and at one part in the game they had (-100) yards of offense.

“The defense created three safeties and a fumble recovery for a touchdown in the first quarter.”

The Kids will look to maintain their intensity when they travel to winless Allen (0-4) Friday night.

“As for Allen, we are going to move forward like coach Gurdineer would want,” noted Toman. “We are going to focus on getting better every day at practice.

“Allen is very athletic and has the ability to strike quickly. We will need to be focused on our individual jobs on offense as they move around a lot and love to blitz.”

PREDICTION: The Kids will need to get the job done against Allen. The Canaries are coming off a 37-34 shootout loss to Pocono Mountain East, which easily was their biggest offensive output after three lopsided losses. Northampton has to avoid a trap game here with East Stroudsburg South ahead, a contest that will test their mettle. But Toman will keep his troops on task here. Look for plenty of different faces carrying the ball for the Kids in the second half, KIDS, 45-12.