Catasauqua will look at its final three regular season games as a series of chances.

“We see it as an opportunity for all of our players,” said head coach Mike McClarin, whose club fell to 1-6 after a 59-14 loss to Palmerton last Friday night. “We spoke to them after the game (Palmerton) and what they can do for the rest of the season.

“The seniors only a few games left and they have an opportunity to leave a mark on the program. The younger kids have the opportunity to show what they can do and to get them a spot for the future.”

The Roughies feel behind 14-0 in the early going, but they closed the gap to 14-7 on quarterback Andrew Martinez’s two-yard plunge.

Palmerton responded when quarterback Jordy Nelson, who normally is a wide receiver, rambled 60 yards for a score. Nelson then sealed the deal when he intercepted Martinez on the Roughies next possession and returned it 26 yards and gave Palmerton a 27-7 advantage.

The Blue Bombers went on to a 40-7 halftime bulge, and they rolled up 513 total yards.

“That hurt us,” added McClarin. “We want to make teams drive the football, but we can’t make a stop.

“We were able to respond in the beginning. We had to make them make mistakes. The kids kept working, but it was tough.”

The Roughies did receive workmanlike effort from running back Wilquon Clemons, who had 14 carries for 116 yards and a touchdown, a 36-yard burst late in the game.

“Wilquon has been getting the ball a lot of us,” said McClarin. “He see the holes and runs very hard. He can make plays.”

McClarin was impressed with the play of freshman linebacker Elijah Solar, who has steadily improved his play over the last three weeks.

“He (Solar) started in the middle for us,” said McClarin. “He has been getting better every week. (Solar) is a very hard worker. It is a tough spot for a freshman to be starting varsity.”

The Roughies likely will endure their most difficult spot of the season when they travel to Notre Dame Friday night. They then will head to Southern Lehigh before they finish the regular season at home against Northwestern.

All three teams are jockeying for position in their perspective classes for the District 11 playoffs.

They also will be without Adam Reinhart, who is likely to miss a couple of weeks.

It all will come down to opportunities.

“We have some very tough teams ahead,” said McClarin. “But they all have opportunities to do something.

“We’re still trying to learn how to practice with low numbers. We are trying to figure it out. We have been getting more hats to the football and that will help.”