NORTHAMPTON - Final scores don’t always tell the whole story.

One look at Northampton’s 42-6 victory Friday night over Pleasant Valley would indicate that the Konkrete Kids dominated from start to finish.

But nothing could be further from the truth.

Not only did the Bears hang with Northampton for the game’s first 20 minutes, but they actually led late in the first half.

“That’s what these kids are made of, you know,” said PV head coach Blaec Saeger. “We did not play our best last week against West and they could have packed it in, but that’s not who they are. It’s not their character, it’s not the way they were raised, and it’s not what this community is. They’re tough. They’re relentless and resilient.

“We had a great week of practice and wanted to come out and look them in the eye, and see what they could do. And for a half, we were right there with them. We had them on the ropes.”

The Bears, who ran 16 offensive plays to Northampton’s three in the opening quarter, took advantage of a muffed punt and opened the game’s scoring early in the second quarter.

After a key 9-yard pickup by quarterback Val Byers-Robinson, Alex Ecker plowed three yards into the end zone to give Pleasant Valley a 6-0 advantage.

“We always know we’re in for a tussle with them coming in,” said Northampton mentor John Toman. “That style of football they play with the triple option uses the clock. That’s their game - to keep the ball out of our hands, and they were successful.

“The first 20 minutes they did what they needed to do. We didn’t execute very well, and we found ourselves in a little bit of a dogfight. I’m proud of our kids. In the end, we mercy ruled them but it was good to face a little bit of adversity.”

The game’s momentum swung in the second half of the second quarter. A PV fumble gave the Kids good field position. Caden Henritzy caught a pass for 11 yards before ripping off back-to-back runs of eight yards to get the ball inside the 10. Two plays later, AJ Slivka scored from three yards out. After Aaron Gutkowski’s PAT, the host team took a 7-6 lead with 3:24 left until halftime.

On the Bears’ next possession, Saeger chose to go for it on a fourth-and-two at their 45 but Northampton’s defense stood tall and forced a turnover on downs.

It took the Kids five plays, the final one a 34-yard touchdown pass to Henritzy over the middle, to extend the margin to 14-6 with just 21 seconds remaining in the period.

“That was big,” said Saeger of the fourth down play. “Fourth and (two), looking back I wish I would have punted, but I said if we can’t get (two) yards we don’t deserve to win. That’s the way our offense is built, to get it to fourth and short and go for it. Give Northampton credit. They made the play.”

“Obviously that was a huge momentum swing for us,” said Toman. “If they convert that fourth down, they can run down the clock. Possessions are important when you’re playing a team like this that’s trying to milk the clock and shorten the game. So it was a great job by the defense to get that stop and turn things around for us. Offensively, from that point, we took off.”

Toman wasn’t kidding.

Not only did the Kids (6-1) punch in the score right before the half, but they opened up the third quarter with a 55-yard drive that pushed the lead to 21-6.

Henritzy again was key with four carries, and Slivka finished off the march with a 6-yard tally.

“They’re a very good team,” said Saeger. “Henritzy is a tremendous player and they have talent all over the place. When he gets in space, he’s just so tough to tackle.

“So for us to hang around like we did and give them fits for a while, I’m proud of my guys. We did everything we could, but sooner or later we wore down ... We gave them everything we had. That was our best.”

Forced to play catch-up, PV (4-3) went to the air - something it doesn’t prefer to do. It proved costly when Michael Coleman intercepted a pass and weaved his way 35 yards for a touchdown.

The Kids tacked on two more scores in the fourth quarter, including another TD catch by Henrizty from quarterback Gavin Taff.

KEY INJURIES ... PV’s Ecker left the game late in the second quarter and didn’t play after that. Quarterback Byers-Robinson was dinged up early in the contest and wasn’t 100% the rest of the game.

STOPPED COLD ... The Bears had 84 yards and five first downs in the first half, but Northampton didn’t allow a first down in the second half and held PV to minus-23 yards of offense over the final two periods.

UP NEXT ... It doesn’t get any easier for Pleasant Valley as it travels to Nazareth (6-1) on Friday.