Catasauqua began a four-week portion of its schedule last week that easily could turn them into either a contender of a pretender.

The Roughies began by hosting Pen Argyl – a game that could have turned each program’s season –followed by a trip to league powerhouse Saucon Valley and then Palisades before returning home against winless Wilson. It concluded with a trip to Green Pond for a battle with the Crusaders.

Needless to say, there was a stiff challenge ahead, one that could lead them to a possible .500 record and a district berth in the new classification and format.

The Roughies stumbled through the first hurdle, as they couldn’t put the clamps on running-hungry Pen Argyl, as they fell, 34-14. It was their most lopsided loss in the season through their first three games and left them with an overall 1-2 mark.

In the game, Catty couldn’t stop lead back Logan Sterner, who rambled for 241 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns on runs of 65 and 85 yards. The Green Knights amassed 419 yards of total offense and slowed Catty to 197 yards.

Ironically, the Roughies mantra for success has been running the ball and stopping the run, factors that kept them in their first two games.

Unfortunately, the Roughies once again will face a heavy running-laced team in the Panthers, who have been paced by quarterback Brandon Holub and backs Nate Kehs and Zack Petiet, all of whom had 90-plus yards in a 35-7 win over Palmerton last week.

Saucon Valley also has been stingy on defense, as they allowed 21 points in their opener against Bangor and then limited Pen Argyl to just seven points.

On the other hand, the Roughies’ brand of high octane offense was watered down against Pen Argyl.

They managed just 8 total rushing yards on 23 carries and quarterback Andrew Brett was sacked six times.

Brett did have another respectable game as he connected on 14 of 21 attempts for 116 yards with a touchdown pass. Freshman Jalen Green made his debut at quarterback and hit 5 of 6 passes for 73 yards and had a touchdown pass. For the season, Brett has completed 64 of 87 attempts for 715 yards and six touchdowns.

Corey Raysley was the Roughies’ leading receiver with six catches for 54 yards and Miguel Hernanadez had four receptions for 47 yards with a touchdown. Hernandez leads all receivers with 19 catches for 261 yards and Raysley has 16 catches for 109 yards.