Catasauqua had its first win of the season in its sights when it trailed winless Palisades 13-0 at halftime at Alumni Field last Friday night. They had intercepted a pass late in the half that gave them some momentum.

Unfortunately, the Roughies (0-4) quickly lost their focus.

Palisades (1-3) erupted with 29 unanswered points after halftime and cruised to a 42-0 victory at Alumni Field.

“We played pretty well on defense the first half,” said Roughies’ head coach Mike McClarin. “We went into the locker room pretty upbeat and I thought we would some out strong in the second half. You can blame it on the coaching because we should have been ready to go.”

It was the second start for freshman quarterback Christian Fye, who relieved senior starter Adam Reinhart, who is sidelined with mono. Fye threw some solid balls and finished the night completing 5-of-10 passes for 30 yards with an interception.

The freshman was hurried and harassed most of the game by the pursuit of an aggressive Palisades’ defense. Catty also lost four of the eight fumbles it had on the night.

“He can only get better,” said McClarin about Fye. “He did some good things out there and he was in some tough situations. He was under pressure and he responded well. He is still young and this will take some time.”

McClarin also was impressed with senior running back/defensive back Jakeem Jourdain, who had an impressive night on kickoff returns with 149 yards, and he also had an interception.

“He’s a tough guy and gives us all he has,” added McClarin. “He played great on defense for us, and I know he will only get better throughout the season.”

Catty did have a rough game on the offensive line, as they were working some younger players in the mix.

“We’re a little banged up and we had some younger guys out there,” said McClarin. “We have a lot of guys playing both ways and they do get run down. But this is our next man up philosophy and they have to be ready to go.”

The Roughies will travel to Wilson Saturday to face the Warriors (1-3), who dropped a 49-30 decision to Northwestern last week. Wilson has scored 54 points over their last two games. Catasauqua has allowed an average of 44 points per game and scored an average of eight points through its first three games.

Catty notched its lone win last season (1-10) with a 37-34 overtime win over Wilson.

“Wilson is a tough team,” said McClarin. “They played all underclassmen last year and now they grown up. They are well coached and can move the ball on the ground.

“This will be a battle with a well-coached team that is very physical.”

Despite the team’s woes, McClarin remains upbeat.

“Our young guys are playing a lot better,” he said. “They are flying to the ball. You can see that we are making progress.”

PREDICTION: The Palisades’ loss could have severely taken the stomp out of the Roughies. They were worn down at the end of the game and physically beat up. Like Palisades, Wilson will be a physical team that returns their skill people.

The Warriors surely will have revenge on their minds from last season, and the field with the old Dixie Cup factory within sight is always a tough place to play for the Roughies lately. Wilson has been scoring points and Catty still has trouble stopping teams. Roughies will play well on defense, but they will need a strong showing on offense…WILSON 35-14.