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LEHIGH VALLEY WEATHER

Kids get by Pleasant Vy.; Freedom is now up next

Northampton’s record-setting season is achieving another mark Friday night.

The Konkrete Kids will host Freedom in a District 11 Class 6A semifinal, marking their first appearance in a district tournament game at that level.

Northampton made their inaugural showing in a tournament game last weekend when they knocked off Pleasant Valley, 21-7, to keep their season unblemished with an 11-0 mark.

The Kids’ running game continues to be one of their strengths, as they rolled up 220 yards on the ground last week. Everett Luisi accounted for 98 yards and rushing leader Caden Henritzy accounted for 71 yards.

Quarterback Cooper King kept his stellar season intact. King has 14 touchdowns with an interception this season.

Yet, the Kids didn’t open the game up in the first half as they have throughout the season. Instead, Pleasant Valley’s offense kept them within striking distance, accumulating 153 yards on the ground.

Kids’ head coach John Toman was concerned about Pleasant Valley’s offensive attack.

“It’s that style of offense, it takes away the number of possessions you’re going to have and you have to be efficient with the ones you do have,” said Toman. “We only had the ball four times in the first half. We scored on two of them, fumbled once and missed a field goal. And in the second half, we just didn’t gel offensively.”

The Kids benefitted from a questionable call when defensive back Jaelen Richardson and Bears’ wide receiver Ryan Blass wrestled for a pass that Blass apparently took away from Richardson for a touchdown. But Richardson was awarded with the interception.

“That was a huge play,” noted Toman. “Jalen said he caught the ball and was on the ground when the kid took the ball out of his hands. I don’t know. I couldn’t see it, like most couldn’t see it.”

Second-seeded Northampton will meet third-seeded Freedom (9-2), which throttled Easton, 44-14, having a 30-0 lead at halftime.

Running back Deante Crawford ran for 197 yards on 17 carries and scored three times. Toman realized the task ahead.

“Freedom is a very solid team,” he offered. “They are big and physical up fronton both sides of the ball.

“Offensively, we will face the best running back we have faced all year in Crawford. We need to limit his big plays. He will get his yards, and we just have to control those yards.

“Defensively, they are technically sound in their techniques and fundamentals. They fly to the football and tackle well. We need to block through the whistle and be balanced in our attack.”

PREDICTION: Freedom will come into Al Erdosy Stadium riding a seven-game winning streak ... The Patriots have outscored their opponents, 259-88, during the span ... The winner will meet the Parkland-Emmaus survivor in the final ... Northampton last beat Freedom in 2006 with a 28-21 regular-season victory under the late Teko Johnson ... This will be Northampton’s biggest tes of the season, probably facing their quickest and biggest team this season. The Kids will again will have to deal with the question of facing and beating an East Penn Conference South team ... Northampton will be buzzing with another playoff game, and the Kids appear to be a destined team ... All the signs point to Freedom, so Northampton needs to play a flawless game. But it’s tough to turn away from the Kids’ magical run ... It will be a classic ... K-KIDS, 28-24.

Press photos by Al Zuzic Cooper King looks to break through two Pleasant Valley tacklers during last week's victory over the Bears.
Isaiah Robinson and Jeff Head stuff Pleasant Valley runner during last week's game.