Going into last Saturday’s dual meet with Easton, the wrestling ranking authorities from across the state and around the region had the K-Kids as decided underdogs. The boisterous crowd that traveled eastward from Northampton was treated to the team’s best effort of the season as they downed their longtime rivals 40-19.

Head coach Seth Lisa’s composed remarks after the match belied the intense emotion on display from the K-Kids’ side throughout the night.

“Been waiting all year to see our guys be able to show up and fight a team that is as equal as you are,” he said. “It’s an emotional roller coaster coaching here in the Lehigh Valley. One night you have an even team against Nazareth and a little disappointed potentially with the effort. But coming back in this gym’s a different story. They’re a great program with a full lineup of kids that compete and train hard and our guys were able to match that intensity and get a good win here tonight.”

Alex Hanley and Makei Hubert demonstrated the impact of their return to the team by accounting for 11 points. Hanley gave the Kids a 10-4 lead with his first-period pin at 138 pounds. Hubert dominated his 215-pound opponent on the way to a 19-4 tech fall.

The big guns did their part too. Carson Wagner decked his opponent in 1:30 to add six points to Northampton’s cause. Dagan Condomitti scored 12 takedowns on the way to a 24-9 tech fall.

Aiden Micheli’s 9-1 major at 132 erased an early 4-0 deficit. CJ Fritz had perhaps the strongest performance of his senior season with a 15-0 tech fall at 145.

At 160, Joey Confer used a late second period takedown and third period reversal to claim a 6-2 decision. Confer spoke about the impact of the crowd support.

“That made it so much more fun and gave everyone so much more energy,” he said. “I’ve got to say, this match was probably the most fun of the year just based off that energy.”

Rocky Cappolella drew thunderous applause from the Northampton faithful with a takedown with 41 seconds left in his 172-pound match to finish a comeback from a 4-3 hole to win 6-4.

Even in defeat, the K-Kids showed great effort. Landon Roland fought off a cradle for 30 seconds at the end the first period in his 189-pound bout. As the clock dwindled to zero, he was battling for a tying takedown.

Austin Noe capped off the night with a solid 6-2 decision over Easton’s tough 120-pounder, Ben Fanelli.

Last Wednesday’s dual meet against Nazareth started with a bang and ended with a thud for the K-Kids. Dagan Condomitti started the night with a dominant 13-3 major decision over Dominic Wheatley, who took seventh place at states at 132 pounds last year.

Joey Confer followed that up with pin in 5:08 to stake Northampton to a 10-0 lead. The next 25 team points went to the Blue Eagles on the way to posting a 48-16 dual meet win.

Carson Wagner received a forfeit at 113 pounds when highly-touted Nazareth freshman Tahir Parkins did not even weigh in. No reason was given for Parkins’ lack of participation. Nazareth also forfeited 113 against Emmaus the next night.

Tonight, the K-Kids close out their regular season dual meet schedule at Pocono Mountain East. On Saturday, Northampton will wrestle Easton for 3rd place at the EPC championships at Easton Middle School. That match will be at 5 p.m. and will be followed by Nazareth and Bethlehem Catholic wrestling for the league crown.