The unveiling of the much-anticipated, new -look Roughies' football program left the Catty faithful with some remembrances of the recent past coupled with some new wrinkles for a promising future.

Two miscues basically separated the Roughies from Bangor in their opener and left them on the short end of a 31-18 score last week in a game that was closer than the final score deficit.

The Roughies took a 3-0 lead on Joe Harakal's 36-yard field goal and eventually had a 10-6 advantage before Bangor built an 18-10 cushion. Catty possibly could have taken over the game with a 10-6 lead before halftime but a 85-yard touchdown pass was called back due to an offsides call.

But showing the resiliency and mental toughness that has been a hallmark of recent Catty teams, the Roughies battled back to tie the game at 18-all late in the game before they suffered their first loss.

"We were right there at the end," said first-year head coach Phil Dorn, who is among several new coaches and players this fall. "We had that touchdown taken off the board and it could have changed the game at that point.

"We kept fighting back the whole night. We certainly did a lot of good things out there and we did make some mistakes.

"Our effort was never questioned and I'm really proud of them. We had a lot of inexperienced players out there and it really didn't show. The guys adapted very quickly."

Dorn highlighted the play of senior lineman Satchel Stauffer on both sides of the ball as well as fellow seniors Ricky Houser and Jake Kober.

"Those guys played as advertised," said Dorn. "They gave us what we expected and proved to be leaders out there for us."

Senior Mike Shutta - who rushed for a touchdown and caught a pass for another touchdown was the workhorse in the backfield for the Roughies, and quarterbacks senior Brandon Keks and junior Cristian Burker were productive in the rotation. Dorn stated both quarterbacks likely would remain in their rotation Friday night at Notre Dame.

"Shutta ran the ball very well for us," said Dorn. "Both of the quarterbacks played well and they were both effective. All of them put us in good situations all night to keep us in the game. We actually had a lot of kids on both sides of the ball that stood out for us.

"Our guys on the offensive line played well and they are coming into their own. We also had the same effort on the defensive side of the ball."

With a solid effort, Dorn expects his team to continue to mature when they tangle with Notre dame Friday night.

"We made some mistakes due to our inexperience," he said. "We only punted a few times and we were moving the ball. Our kids are beginning to understand their roles. This is not a rebuilding process for us.

"We did a number of good things and we feel confident we can continue to become a better team in the process."