Pleasant Valley and Northampton have faced each other several times on the gridiron the past few seasons.

The Bears had a tough time with the Konkrete Kids in last year’s regular season matchup which resulted in a 46-7 Northampton win.

PV is coming off a 28-7 loss to Eastern Pennsylvania Conference opponent Pocono Mountain West after Ryder Bray’s passing game and the Panthers defense were too much for the Bears.

“It was a tough loss,” Pleasant Valley head coach Blaec Saeger said. “We did not execute, play or coach well. They were more physical than us and better-coached. They had everything going and deserved to win. Maybe we needed that to ground and humble ourselves a little bit and get back to basics.”

The squad will now turn its attention to a Northampton team that has won five in a row since dropping its season opener to Allentown Central Catholic.

Pleasant Valley was riding a four-game winning streak heading into the Pocono Mountain West game, and is now 4-2 heading into a clash that is the Times News Game of the Week.

“We have a very tough opponent coming up,” Saeger said. “Northampton is a Lehigh Valley power, and we’re looking forward to the opportunity to go down there and play a really good football team, one that we have competed with in the past in some games. Our kids have moved on and recovered, and are trying to fix their mistakes and get back on the right track.”

Pleasant Valley had a tough time rushing the ball against Pocono Mountain West, as the Panthers’ defense was able to slow down running back Alex Ecker.

Senior quarterback Valentino-Byers Robinson was able to break away for a 66-yard touchdown run against the Panthers, which ended up being the only Bears score of the game.

This a tough stretch for the Bears coming up, first facing Northampton, then traveling to Nazareth the week as part of two big tests.

“Very difficult stretch, two of the best teams in the state, and we want to go out and just prove that we belong,” Saeger said. “We just need to be physical and give them everything that they can handle. We had Nazareth in the playoffs a few years ago and competed for a quarter-and-a-half. We nearly beat Northampton in the playoffs a couple of years ago, so we’ve done it. We’re kind of built to do it, running what we run and doing what we do. It’s not going to be easy, two excellent football teams.”

The Konkrete Kids are 5-1 after a Week 1 one-point loss to Allentown Central Catholic, and have outscored the last five opponents 250-6.

Northampton has emerged as one of the best teams in the Lehigh Valley, and the Bears will face senior running back Caden Henritzy, a player Pleasant Valley has had a difficult time containing the past few seasons.

“This is probably the best they’ve had yet, and that’s saying something,” Saeger said about Northampton. “They’ve had some good teams. They have a lot of returning experience with a tremendous running back and a new quarterback, but he’s very good. Very good athletes, and they’re always going to be enormous. Very well-coached, and they’re an excellent football team. They’re going to be competing for a District 6A championship in November, and we definitely have our hands full.”