These days, Catasauqua's football program is looking more like an army MASH unit than a solid unit.

Injuries have begun to severely hamper the Roughies' depth and execution as 10 starters have missed at least one game this season. Beginning practice this week in preparation for their game at Salisbury Friday night, Catty has 13 players from their 42-man roster with injuries that kept them from participating.

Still, the injuries haven't depleted the Roughies' sense of will and determination.

"Considering our situation, it is great to see these kids working very hard with enthusiasm at practice," said head coach Phil Dorn. "We have adapted and truly used the next-man-up philosophy.

"This situation has tested our psyche and tested our depth. But these kids just keep plugging away. It has really opened up some opportunities for the younger kids to get playing time.

"It is also a challenge to try to get the younger kids acclimated with varsity speed. We have been at this point for the past three weeks. But this is just an unfortunate part of the game that we will have to deal with."

In last week's 44-7 defeat to Palmerton on the Roughies' homecoming night, Dorn attributed the loss to a series of untimely mental lapses that eventually placed them in a 38-0 halftime whole. Catty turned the ball over five times.

It ended a modest, yet encouraging two-game winning streak that suddenly elevated the Roughies into the District 11 Class 2A playoff chase. That opportunity quickly dropped a few floors.

"We put the ground on the ball too much and dropped some balls," noted Dorn. "They (Palmerton) jumped on us 10-0. We then dropped some balls and we were down 17-0. We had to capitalize on our opportunities, but it began to snowball from there.

"It was just one of those things. The kids weren't able to connect and it was uncharacteristic of us. We had a good week of practice and I don't think it was a matter of not being focused. Our kids played hard out there.

"When you are missing people with injuries and trying to plug in new people, it's a challenge.

"I don't want to take anything away from Palmerton because they are a talented football team that has been playing well."

Catty will now meet Salisbury, which has lost two consecutive games after winning three straight to revive their season. They will enter the game with the same record (3-4) as Catty.

However, Salisbury doesn't look like a sub-. 500 team on paper. The Falcons have passed for 173 yards per game, and they have rushed for a nearly equal 161 yards per contest.

Quarterback Tevon Weber has thrown for 1,211 yards with 13 touchdowns and Mason Donaldson has been his favorite target with 20 receptions for 294 yards.

In the backfield, the Falcons feature a lightening combo of running backs Shane Matthews (335 yards) and Devon Irwin (328).

"They're pretty quick," said Dorn on his future opponent. "They have two scatbacks who run the ball well. They don't have a big team, but they fly to the ball. They will run some Wing-T.

"Defensively, they will play a 40 and are very active. Like us, they have a lot of kids who play two ways. But this will be a challenge for us."

Knowing that his team will face some long odds over the next few weeks, Dorn believes his squad will keep their focus.

"We'll do what we can and continue to work hard in practice," he said. "The kids are really doing a great job. We'll hop on the bus and be ready to play at Salisbury Friday night."