Catasauqua's convincing 55-21 victory over Wilson was not only a needed one, but it also could possibly be a trigger for more to come.

The Roughies erupted for five scores in as many plays in the third quarter to gain control of a tussle with a winless Wilson squad and also helped them increase their overall confidence in the process. The victory raised the Roughies' overall record to 2-3.

"It was a nice win for us," said Roughies' head coach Phil Dorn. "We prepped for them (Wilson) all week and they did what we expected them to do. We knew we had to adjust to their size up front, and at one point we tried to muscle with them.

"But we got back to our speed advantage and played well defensively. It was nice to see our defense get a touchdown."

Eric Gubish intercepted a pass and brought it back 37 yards for a touchdown that brought the Roughies into a 14-14 tie at halftime.

After the half, Catty's Brandon Keks connected with Jake Kober on a pair of scoring strikes and added another one to Ricky Houser. Kober also threw for a score to Houser.

Tevon Royster, who has excelled on special teams all season, capped the third quarter outburst with a 91-yard kickoff return.

Keks was an efficient 5 of 6 for 141 yards, and Cristian Burker, who started the game, was 3 of 6 for 76 yards with a touchdown pass to Kober, who caught six balls for 177 yards and four touchdowns.

"We made some adjustments at halftime, and it proved to be the right move for us," noted Dorn, whose quarter and game total was the highest all season. "We moved the ball really well and managed to gain control of the game."

Dorn continues to be pleased with his two-quarterback system.

"Cristian (Burker) got us going on our first drive and he played well overall," said Dorn. "We went to (Brandon) Keks in the second half and we kept him in there the rest of the way because he had the hot hand.

"They will both continue to get their opportunities."

Dorn wants to get his team's running attack back on track Friday night when the Roughies host Northern Lehigh, which rallied for 14 fourth-quarter points in a stunning 14-13 comeback victory over Palisades last week.

The first-year Roughies' head coach wants to see senior running back Mike Shutta once again become a focal point for the team. Shutta rushed for only 12 yards against Wilson, but he is the team's leading rusher with 314 yards. A week earlier in a lopsided loss to Saucon Valley, Shutta rushed for 81 yards.

"Wilson did a nice job at shutting our running game down," said Dorn. "Up front, we couldn't get him (Shutta) going.

"We believe Shutta is one of the better backs around, and we need to create some opportunities for him. Saucon Valley just overwhelmed us, but Shutta had a really nice game. We've had games in which we had a strong passing game and weak running game and vice versa.

"We need to have a balanced game overall on offense."

With their win last week, Northern Lehigh (4-1) thrust itself into the District 11 Class 2A playoff picture. Dorn sees his team's next opponent as a mirror image of Palisades, who defeated the Roughies in week three.

Backup quarterback Floyd Snyder, who subbed for starter Chad Cederberg, scrambled for a game-high 115 yards and fullback Nate Farber has been their workhorse on the ground all season.

"They (Northern Lehigh) remind us a lot of Palisades," he said. "They have a good defensive front and their linebackers move well. Their secondary has done a nice job. Offensively, they have size up front and some speedy backs and downhill runners. They are well coached and we give us some different looks."

With a timely win last week, Dorn envisions his club nearly ready to take the next step.

"We want the game when we can put it all together on offense," he said. "We did a nice job last week and we'll have a real challenge this week. These kids are coming and they believe we can make a nice run."