Northampton head football coach John Toman watched his team dominate host Catasauqua, 45-0, in the 102nd meeting between the two teams on Thanksgiving morning.

Toman’s squad held Catasauqua to 71 total yards to win their 11th straight in the series.

More importantly, though, Toman was pleased that senior linemen Gerald Bretzik, Chase Corrow, Alex Garcia, and Riley Montgomery were able to convert two-point conversions.

“It was good to see the kids having fun watching the four senior linemen score the two-point plays,” beamed Toman. “These four linemen had an awesome year for us.”

“It was great seeing them have their moment.”

Offensively, Northampton senior quarterback Gavin Taff accounted for five touchdowns, throwing for four and running for the other one. Taff completed seven of 11 passes for 99 yards, and tied his record for touchdown passes in a season with 17.

Taff truly enjoyed all of the moments. He and his teammates played with plenty of confidence.

“I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better script for how the game went,” boasted Taff. “Seeing all my teammates score one last time with huge smiles on their faces made my day. The team came out and played the way we did because of one thing. I think we were actually having fun playing the game. There wasn’t any fear that you were going to mess up or make a mistake, and there wasn’t one teammate down about themselves the whole time.”

Toman saw several games slip away from his team, as the Konkrete Kids finished 5-7 overall. But the fifth-year head coach was pleased with the overall season

“Yes, we were in all our games,” stated Toman. “Even though we had one less win this year, we still took a step forward as a program in being able to play on the South teams’ level and compete with them.

“Getting the victory in week nine against Nazareth showed the kids they can win at this level. Competing at a certain level and then learning the effort it takes to win is a process and we took a step closer this year.”

Taff echoed his coach’s message. He plans to play football next season and pursue a career in engineering or business management.

“We seniors knew how important it was to end off with a great win in which everyone enjoyed playing together for the last time,” said Taff. “Nothing can truly redeem the tough losses this year and the ultimate goal of winning the district championship, but what I will say is that the game definitely put peace to our minds. It was a great way to go out.”

Toman will lose 29 seniors from this year’s team, but he is confident with a returning core on both sides of the ball.

Offensively, Toman will look to running back Chase Kessler, who set a new season individual rushing record with 1,495 yards, along with other returning starters lineman Andrew Bastian and receiver Jeremiah Strowder. Players returning with significant playing time will be running back Jell Small, linemen Trent Everett and Sam Constant, halfback Chase Czarnecki, and wide receivers Evan Kleppinger and Jorge Lopez.

Defensively, the Konkrete Kids will bring back starters Czarnecki (linebacker), cornerback Evan Kleppinger, linebacker Robert Wambold (OLB) and defensive lineman Luke Becker.

Players returning with significant playing time will be cornerback Devin McDonald, safety Colby Brearman, linebacker Logan Rusnock, defensive end Sam Constant, and defensive tackle Andrew Bastian.

Even with the loss of several key players, Toman is confident to begin his sixth year at the helm next season.

“We return a bunch of underclassmen,” said Toman. “We are excited about it and they have either started or played a bunch for us.”