Three years ago when he took over the program, Catasauqua head football coach Phil Dorn envisioned a group of sophomores who could change the culture of the program during their senior year.

In his first season, Dorn’s squad produced a 3-8 record, a season away from one of the most productive in school history fueled by a core of seasoned seniors. Last year, there was a wave of initial optimism, especially after the team’s impressive 27-0 opening-game shutout over Bangor.

But the tide quickly turned as injuries and inexperience plagued the Roughies as they lost 10 straight games.

Now with 19 seniors on his roster, Dorn believes his team can take the next step. They began their journey with the first day of double sessions last Monday that will lead them to their opener against Salisbury on Aug. 26.

“We had a good offseason,” said Dorn. “We had a bunch of seven-on-seven passing camps and we looked good. The kids were very dedicated and we are bigger and stronger. They have a great attitude.

“We had a couple of seniors on offense last year and we also had a few of them on defense. But this year, we seem to have tons of kids competing for spots. We’re going to give everybody the opportunity to win spots.”

Dorn noted the Roughies will have seven experienced linemen, led by returnees seniors Ben Nosal, Brandon Bly, and Tyler Youssef.

One of the more potent spots on the field will be at wide receiver where seniors Miguel Hernandez and Ryan Greene along with junior Corey Raysely combined for 123 catches.

Senior Andrew Brett, who saw action last season, returns, but he will be tested by freshman Jalen Green.

“We have some strong players coming back,” said Dorn. “But we are going to have everyone compete. It is too early to start naming people to spots. We like what we have seen and we want to make it as competitive as possible in camp.”

Another goal this season will be implementing a steady junior high and junior varsity program. Dorn stated that only a handful of freshmen will play varsity.

The Roughs will look to enforce their philosophy of running the ball and stopping the run, both of which were issues last season. Still, Dorn knows his team has to keep everything in perspective.

“We’ll be successful if we can do those things,” stressed Dorn. “We know where we would like to be at week 10 of the season, but our main focus right now is on week one.”