With the start of preseason practice just under way, Catasauqua head football coach Tom Falzone is already eagerly optimistic about his team's chances. A favorable showing in a series of 7-on-7, and 11-on-11 passing camps have fueled their fortunes toward the season-opener when they host Wilson Aug. 31.

The Roughies went against Central Catholic, Liberty, Lehighton and Nazareth, and they also attended a passing camp at Lafayette College where they met teams from New Jersey as well as Stroudsburg and Bethlehem Catholic.

"We have had a good summer so far," said Falzone, who will begin his fourth season at the helm with an overall 22-15 mark. "We started off well against Central Catholic and then we didn't perform as well against Liberty.

"We looked good against Lehigh and finished strong against Dieruff. We also had a good showing against Nazareth, who has several guys back from their championship run last year. It (camps) were primarily an offensive drill, and we made a lot of strides."

Falzone has been impressed with the development of projected starting quarterback Zack Bradley along with receivers Alex Parker and Paryss Marshall. Ra'Von Burton, Jacob and Zach Stopay, and Eric Matz all should be key contributors to the Roughies' ground and air attacks this fall. Matz also will again handle the punting duties.

"Zack (Bradley) has really adjusted well to playing quarterback, and he (Bradley) has a strong arm," Falzone said. "Ra'Von (Burton) is one of the strongest and quickest players we have and both Stopays have been doing a good job. (Matz) should be more of a weapon on offense for us.

"This will be one of the best skill groups we have ever had."

Up front, Falzone stated there will be some positions claimed in the next two weeks, but he cited the work ethic of two-way projected starters Zach Labezius and Jared Nosal and Rhaine Sziy, who will likely start at center.

Defensively, Donald Hunter will be back as a starter on the line and Labezius will also see time there. Falzone also noted the losses of Tony Harris and Shakur Lester, two starters last season who both transferred.

Burton will man the middle of the linebacking corps along with Nosal, Zach Stopay, Tyler Trobetsky, Jimmy Deily, and Devin Flores. The Roughies secondary should be strength with the return of Parker, Matz, Marshall, Jacob Stopay.

Overall, Falzone likes his team's chances due to their sense of commitment. Despite having only eight seniors, he isn't worried about any veteran issues. Falzone also expects his team to be in the playoff hunt once again this fall. They finished with an overall 8-4 record last year, ending with win over Northampton on Thanksgiving after a loss in an Eastern Conference playoff game.

"The kids have really worked hard and they have been very dedicated," he said. "We have a small senior class, but we have a very strong junior class. The juniors have been involved with the program for a while and they know what we expect.

"We'll get tested early with Wilson and then we have Southern Lehigh, who runs the Wing-T and has some large lineman. There may be some more parody in the league this year, but we expect Pen Argyl, Bangor and Northern Lehigh to be right in the thick of things.

"The win over Northampton will give us momentum, and I expect us to be pretty competitive this fall. We have to see how things work out over the next two weeks."