Last year, the K-Kids’ football team surrendered 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter drop a shootout against Liberty 41-34. This year’s squad pitched a second half shutout against the Hurricanes to secure a hard-fought 13-12 win in BASD Stadium last Friday night.

In what looked like a continuation of 2025’s game, Liberty scored on their first possession on a 43-yard screen pass to EPC 1st team WR Zyaire Davis. Crucially, DJ McDonald blocked the extra point to keep the score at 6-0.

A few drives later, the K-Kids responded. Zion McKinney had a beautiful 27-yard run on a read-option to get the Kids down to the 1. Two plays later, McKinney answered the bell by sweeping around left end for a score. Jackson Sandt knocked through the PAT to give Northampton a 7-6 lead.

That looked like it would be the halftime score. Liberty had third and 10 on their own 25 with under a minute until the intermission. The Kids had great coverage on Davis down the right hash, but it didn’t matter as the senior high-pointed the ball for a 58-yard gain. Alsaiah Gross followed up with a 17-yard strike to Davis on the next play to put the Hurricanes on top 12-7. Robert Wambold was the special teams hero this time as the Kids blocked their second PAT of the game.

There were two consequential drives in the second half.

Northampton took their second possession and ground out 15-play, 93-yard drive capped with a 1-yard Chase Kessler plunge to take the lead 13-12. The 2-point conversion failed.

Liberty got one last chance with 2:34 left in the game and the ball on their own 40 with one timeout remaining. The Hurricanes got a first down in Kids territory but were pushed back to the other side of the 50 by a false start and a sack by Christian Garcia.

A Gross to Davis connection gained 10 yards. Ray Evangelista stormed through the Hurricanes’ O-line on the next play for a 9-yard loss setting up 4th and 18. A desperation heave to Davis down the left sideline fell harmlessly out of bounds and the K-Kids were able to kneel out the clock.

Head coach John Toman described the defensive pressure mindset on the last possession, “Don’t give him the time to throw downfield, because that’s what they do. We haven’t been able to really dial up pressure, but we put in Christian Garcia who got the sack. This is his first time starting and he made a big play.”

Senior captain Robert Wambold, who led the Kids with 7 tackles, talked about the team putting the Whitehall game behind them, “We obviously wanted to beat Whitehall, but we can’t dwell on it. We have to move forward. We came in with a clear mindset and we were solely focused on Liberty and no one else. It’s amazing to be out there on a drive like at the end where one team is going to win and one team is going to lose.”

Northampton 13 Liberty 12

K-Kids 0 7 6 0 - 13

Liberty 6 6 0 0 - 12

Passing: McKinney 5 10, 43 yards, INT.

Rushing: Kessler 32 139, TD; McKinney 11 63, TD; Wambold 3 19; McDonald 1 11; Team 2 (6).

Receiving: Kleppinger 2 17; Strowder 1 13; McDonald 1 8; Brobst 1 5

Defense: Wambold 7 tackles, 2 TFL; McDonald 5 tackles; Scheetz 3 tackles, TFL; Kleppinger 2 tackles, PD; Rusnock 2 tackles; Garcia sack; Evangelista sack; Williams 2 tackles; Brearman tackle, PD; Czarnecki 2 tackles