Catasauqua can bring plenty of positives with them when they line up for their first home game of the season against Northern Lehigh Friday night at Alumni Field.

The Roughies rebounded late in their opening-game defeat to Salisbury as they battled back from a 28-0 deficit to score 24 fourth-quarter points that eventually resulted in a 38-24 defeat to the host Falcons.

It was an early test of character for the Roughies, who often didn’t respond from a series of games in which the opponent gained a large advantage last season.

The story of the night for Catty was turnovers. Three first-half hiccups put the Roughies in a 21-0 lead at halftime, and it was their lone blemish on the evening. In the opening half, Catty outgained Salisbury, 252-227 in total yards, but they couldn’t convert a score having the ball three times inside the red zone.

Their opener proved to be an encouraging start for new starting quarterback Andrew Brett (25-of-35 for 297 yards), who had a relatively consistent night despite a pair of interceptions. Running backs KJ Reiss (119 yards rushing) and Derrick Rodriguez (65 yards) both had strong ground games and also scored touchdowns.

But the Roughies couldn’t contain Salisbury’s ground game, as the Falcons rolled up 353 yards on the ground and 414 overall yards of total offense.

“We need to be able to run the ball and stop the run if we are to be successful this year,” said Catasauqua head coach Phil Dorn. “We made too many mistakes and we had trouble containing them.”

Now, the Roughies quickly look to get back on track against Northern Lehigh Friday night. They did manage to have a 1-1 record after their first two games last season, but they then dropped nine straight games due to injuries and inexperience and finished with an overall 1-10 mark.

Northern Lehigh will enter Catty off a 42-6 thrashing from Southern Lehigh in a game they trailed 21-6 at halftime.

Junior quarterback Tekoah Guedes was a one-man show for the Bulldogs as he completed 9-of-22 attempts for 164 yards with a touchdown and interception.

He also was the team’s leading rusher with 195 yards. However, the Bulldogs also were mistake prone as they committed four turnovers in the game and lost two starters to injuries.

After Northern Lehigh, the Roughies will host Pen Argyl and then travel to Saucon Valley and Palisades in the following two weeks before returning home in a matchup against Wilson. If they can tighten their effort and eliminate mistakes, Catty easily can maneuver itself into a district playoff spot in the newly aligned Class 2A format.

“We are all pretty confident,” said senior defensive lineman Ben Nosal. “We all know what we are capable of doing and we have to keep working.”