Their team statistics don’t tell the full story of this year’s Pleasant Valley football team.

The Bears are averaging 36 points a game through their first five contests.

They’ve won only two, and have lost three games by a total of 14 points.

Following last week’s 38-28 defeat to East Stroudsburg South, PV head coach Blaec Saeger was upset with his team’s performance.

“They out toughed us,” he said. “They ran the ball right down our throats.”

The statistics from that game tell the story.

South ran 66 plays from the line of scrimmage to 29 for the Bears, who had only two possessions in the first half.

“I was angry,” said Saeger. “Our players were angry, and that’s a good thing going into this next game against another team that likes to run the ball.”

So then, Northampton presents a similar challenge for Pleasant Valley on Thursday.

In five games, the Konkrete Kids have rushed for 1,077 yards while passing for 183 and have yet to throw a touchdown pass this year.

“They are very large up front,” Saeger said, “and they have a good tailback and a running quarterback.”

In a one-point win against Liberty earlier this season, running back Chase Kessler ran the ball 32 times and gained 139 yards. Northampton won the game on a fourth-quarter, six-minute, 93-yard touchdown drive.

“We expect to see them try to do what South did last week, so we’ve stressed to our defense that they have to win the line of scrimmage and put them in third-and-long situations to force them to go against their strength.”

Saeger hopes that helping to stop the run will be the return of inside linebacker Jacob George, who was out with an injury last week.

“He’s been our anchor and our leading tackler,” he said.

The Bears have plenty of firepower on offense, beginning with running back Chris Ward.

From the wildcat, Ward takes direct snaps and has averaged over 11 yards a carry which has resulted in him scoring nine TDs so far this season.

Ward is also a passing threat along with Brandt Wines, who rotates into the schemes of Saeger’s read-pass-option offense.

“We didn’t ask Chris to learn the playbook as a quarterback, but he certainly has given us a solid threat complemented by Brandt’s passing ability. We like to mix it up with both of them.”

Two outstanding receivers have added a lot of scoring punch, Saeger said.

“Six-foot-five William Breuer is a tall target, and Sean Cobb brings open field speed, great blocking and perimeter running from his wide receiver position.”

Breuer has caught 10 balls for 206 yards and four touchdowns, while Cobb has seven catches for 140 yards, with a 20-yard average per reception.

Northampton (3-2) has played solid defense, which implies that Pleasant Valley will need to move the chains to keep possession away from its clock-eating offense.

“We can’t let them grind us out like South did,” said Saeger, suggesting that the Bears will have to play a very physical football game if they expect to win.

“We’ve addressed the issues with our team. We’ll change a few things on the defensive side of the ball, but it still comes down to playing aggressive and physical.”

Saeger believes his Bears will have a bounce-back game.

“We have great kids in our program. They’re a spirited group and we fully expect to bring a lot of energy to our game on Thursday night.”