Northampton head football coach John Toman knew it would take a full-game effort to overcome Parkland last week.

His team stayed the course, but the Konkrete Kids eventually fell to the Trojans, 38-27, sending them to their first loss of the season.

The Kids (2-1) will look to rebound when they host Liberty (2-1) Friday night.

“Overall we battled hard all night, and I am super proud of the fight we showed to claw back into the game, said Toman. “There was about a six-minute span where we just did not do things well and Parkland took advantage. All the players made plays and battled.”

Quarterback Gavin Taff, who completed 17 of 24 passes for 146 yards and a pair of touchdowns, saw the game as another stepping stone in the season.

“It showed that we are more than capable of competing against top teams in the (East Penn Conference) South (or Northampton County Division),” stressed Taff. “I think as a team overall we need to limit mental errors. I feel like as every week goes by I feel more and more comfortable with how I am throwing the football and controlling the offense.”

Toman has liked the progression of his quarterback, who has yet to throw an interception this season.

“Gavin spread the ball around and ran when necessary,” added Toman. “He keeps making progress each week.

KIDS KUDOS: Liberty won last year’s contest, 16-7. Northampton’s last win was their previous meeting in 2020 by a 38-10 score ... Liberty is coming off a 49-17 rout of Stroudsburg after they posted a 38-14 victory of Allentown Central Catholic. The Hurricanes opened the season with a 31-21 loss to Pennridge ... Taff has completed 3148 passes for 373 yards with four touchdowns. He rushed for 48 yards against Parkland. For the season, Taff has rushed for 72 yards with four touchdowns. Zander Ricker paced the Kids with 60 yards rushing against Parkland. Chase Kessler has a team-high 208 for the season. Joey High had seven catches for 61 yards, and he has a team-high 10 for 149 yards with a pair of touchdowns for the year ... Rocco Amato leads the team in tackles with 24 and Sincere Wadlington as 20 stops ... Luke Becker has a team-high 2.5 sacks.

Liberty quarterback Antonio Fontanez had thrown for 734 yards with 10 touchdowns and one interception ... Running back Adriaan DeLeon had rushed for 182 yards and Gabe Green has run for 172 ... Zyaire Davis has caught 14 passes for 273 yards with two touchdowns, and Jaxon Barlok has 13 receptions for 198 yards with a score ... Javian Pujals leads the Hurricanes with 20 tackles, and William Reese has 13 stops.

PREDICTION (Season Record 2-1): Kids will be tested by a rising Liberty squad ... This will be the first of seven challenging games for the Kids featuring East Penn Conference Northampton County Division foes Easton, Bethlehem Catholic, and Nazareth before their annual Thanksgiving tilt with Catasauqua ... Being at home will help Kids, and their defense will need to tighten ... Assistant head coach Kevin Ronalds can pick me up a pizza from Mario’s in Northampton ... K-KIDS, 21-9.