Tom Falzone has been braced for a period of football that he nor his coaches or players have everexperienced.

For Falzone, however, the experience will extend a couple of more days as the coach will begin serving jury duty next Monday.

It is an eight-day period in which Catasauqua will have played three football games.

The period began last Saturday when the Roughies won their inaugural state playoff game in school history when they defeated Lake Lehman, 33-21, in the opening round of the PIAA Class 2A playoffs. It will end Saturday afternoon when they tangle with Philadelphia-based Imhotep Charter at Germantown High School in the second round of the playoffs.

In between, the Roughies have their traditional backyard brawl with Northampton on Thanksgiving morning.

Their whirlwind schedule can only be paralleled by Easton, which has played three games during the same time period when a pair of playoff games have been sandwiched around their traditional Thanksgiving Day game against Phillipsburg.

"This is a busy week," stated Falzone. "None of the coaches here have ever been through a period like this before. It will certainly be a challenge for us especially trying to play a football game two days after playing Northampton."

Even though the game against Imhotep Charter could mean another monumental step in the program's history with a win, Falzone isn't downplaying the game against winless Northampton.

"We're going into that game to win and do what we would normally do," stressed Falzone. "Everyone has been asking me how we are going to approach that game with the playoff game ahead. "Beating Northampton still means a lot to everyone in this town and to the players, coaches, and fans who come back to see the game.

"We don't want to go out there and let anybody down. It will be a different stage for us, but we will attack it the same way. We won't take them (Northampton) lightly, and we know that beating us will make their season for them."

While Catty will expect to have another physical game with the Konkrete Kids, they will see a different phase of the game with Imhotep Charter.

The Panthers (10-1), who will be practically playing in their backyard, have averaged more than 53 points per game and have allowed just over 15 points per contest.

They defeated West Catholic, 49-8, for the District 12 title Nov. 15 and have been idle since that game. Their lone loss was to Eastern Christian Academy of Elkton, Maryland, 36-28, on Oct. 5.

Last season, they advanced to the state semifinals, only to be defeated by eventual champion Wyomissing.

Before advancing to the semifinals, they defeated Pen Argyl, 54-7, in a second-round playoff game. Being a charter school, the program can openly recruit athletes and have had a number of players graduate to playing at top Division-I programs.

Quarterback Andre Dreuitt has thrown for more than 1,400 yards with 22 touchdowns and five interceptions. Naeem Bonner has been the team's leading rusher with 880 yards and 13 touchdowns, and Mike Waters has been a perfect compliment with 724 yards and 11 touchdowns.

"They are a team with very good skill players," said Falzone about his team's next state playoff opponent. "They are also very big up front and can create some holes for their running game.

"Their quarterback can run and throw and their receivers are quick. They may be the best football team in the state. They have the complete package to go out and play some great football. It will be a challenge for us and it will also be a different look than we have seen lately."

Despite playing an opponent for the first time that will post better overall statistics in several categories than them, Falzone expects his team to respond. The Roughies (12-1) will enter the contest averaging 43 points per game while allowing just over 15 per contest.

Quarterback Zack Bradley will enter the contest with over 2,600 yards thrown in the air and 41 touchdowns.

Paryss Marshall has been his main target with 68 catches for over 1,300 yards and 19 touchdowns. The Roughies will be without Ra'Von Burton, who rushed for over 1,400 yards and scored 20 touchdowns.

"Our guys won't back down," stated Falzone. "We'll go out and give it our best shot, and we won't be intimidated by them. We can attack them as well and we'll have to be able to execute."

"But we can't make as many mistakes as we did against Lake-Lehman and expect to beat them (Imhotep Charter)."

The coach's optimistic outlook has transcended down to his players.

"We know they are a quick and a finesse-type of team," said lineman Tyler Trobetsky. "But we are a quick team as well and we feel we can match up with them. We have played some teams with speed and we have handled them well.

"I think we'll be able to adjust."

"This will be a test on how successful our season can be," added Marshall, who expects to see his share of double-teams against Imhotep Charter. "They have watched our games and they saw that I wasn't double-teamed that much last week (against Lake-Lehman). I expect them to come after me.

"But this is a challenge for us. We'll be looking to keep it close and we know we can play with any team out there. We'll be looking to prove it again this week."