Catasauqua head football coach Mike McClarin knew his squad would have a stiff challenge Thanksgiving morning against Northampton.

The situation became even more precarious when McClarin underwent an appendectomy a few days earlier and watched the game from the press box at Northampton.

Unfortunately, life didn’t get any easier for the Rough Riders as they suffered a 63-0 defeat to the Konkrete Kids in the 97th meeting between the two teams.

Northampton (10-2) scored on it first seven possessions and held a 49-0 advantage at halftime.

Catasauqua ended its season with an 0-11 mark.

“It was tough,” said the second-year coach. “That was probably the best Northampton team in 20 years.

“We’re very young and we were probably overmatched. But our kids kept working the whole game. We had too many turnovers, and we had a lot of young players out there.”

The Roughies will lose seniors linemen Lavonte Bouie, Jacob Scheier and Bailey Witt, wide receiver Riley Reinhard, running back Jakeem Jourdain, and quarterback Adam Reinhart.

Senior running back/quarterback Jacob Smith has been sidelined with a knee injury.

“We’re losing three skill people and three linemen, all of whom played big roles on this team,” added McClarin. “They all were good leaders and made plenty of sacrifices for the team.

“We’ll miss them, but we are very excited about the players we have coming back.”

Freshman running back Anthonie Hunsicker ran for 74 yards against Northampton, and he finished as the Roughies’ leading rusher with 273 yards. Sophomore Elijah Soler ran for 174 yards on the year.

“Hunsicker and Soler improved every game for us on both sides of the ball,” stated McClarin. “We have so many young players who improved as the season went on.

“They have bought into our process, and we know they will spend more time in the weight room.”

McClarin is optimistic that a group of incoming freshmen from a highly successful middle school team the past two years will make an impact.

“That group has been talking about it,” said McClarin. “They want to stay together, and they will have to keep battling.

“If they stay together, they can make a lot of good things happen for Catasauqua football.”

The Roughies should also benefit from the upcoming Colonial/Schuylkill League merger next season in which they will be pitted against similar-size schools.