Catasauqua entered Notre Dame last Friday night as the undefeated Crusaders’ first home opponent in two years since their field house and field was refurbished last year.

That might have been the first bad sign.

Unfortunately, the game never gave them any breaks either.

Notre Dame scored 14 points in the first quarter and jumped to a 35-halftime lead on their way to a 55-0 victory.

With the loss, Catasauqua dropped its fourth straight, falling to 1-4 overall. Notre Dame increased their clean slate to 5-0.

Notre Dame had a 7-0 lead and gained momentum when they converted an apparent punt with a pass that led to another score.

However, Catasauqua head coach Joe Henrich thought the fake punt didn’t play into the outcome.

“I didn’t think they got out of control too early,” stressed Henrich. “I thought we hung in there until late in the second quarter. Kids played hard, battled and did some nice things. Notre Dame is just at a different level than us right now.”

Senior tight end/linebacker Ari Wright believed his club didn’t take advantage of their opportunities. He noted how they kept Notre Dame’s high-powered passing game in check with 188 yards with two touchdowns, but the Rough Riders allowed 268 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.

“I believe we didn’t capitalize on some plays, as in we couldn’t string them together more consistently,” said Wright. “We had some really good plays on offense and defense, but we were just inconsistent, and that’s a learning curve for us and we plan to fix that.

“I don’t believe anything took the wind out of our sails. We didn’t give up, we didn’t let Notre Dame just throw the ball, and that was our goal to force them to run, and I’m proud of that. I’m proud of my team’s mentality and want to stay in the game regardless of the outcome.”

Wright is confident his team can reverse their misfortunes.

“We will turn this season around by becoming more consistent and focused on our role in our team,” he added. “By executing our jobs and overall just staying positive regardless of the score or things not going our way. That’s been the best part so far; our mentality has definitely improved.”

Junior lineman Evan DeLong saw his team not hitting on all their cylinders.

“I think what happened is that we didn’t play our best as a team in that game,” offered DeLong. “We always had a couple guys make mistakes which led to negative plays or big plays for them. That fourth down conversion they had was a big bullet we had to take, but in the end it was just one play and shouldn’t have defined the rest of the game.”

Like Wright, DeLong sees the potential for an upswing. Catty hosts Northern Lehigh (4-1) Friday night.

“Right now, I see this team as a ball of potential sitting at the top of a hill,” added DeLong. “All we need is a little push, or in our case a win, to get rolling and gain momentum and do something the rest of the season. It all starts with one good practice after another.”

Henrich knows his team has another tough battle ahead with Northern Lehigh.

“They are very good, well coached and aggressive,” noted Henrich. “They don’t beat themselves.”

Northern Lehigh head coach Joe Tout expects the Roughies to give his team a tussle.

“Well this is a bit of a rivalry game for our program,” said Tout. “If I am correct, Palmerton is our longest running series and Catasauqua is our second longest series. So we are very excited to be playing a team that is in the District 11 Class 2A field as well. Right now, we are very happy with our defense. They have been playing outstanding lately. However, we have a big challenge this week. Anytime you play a team with a three-year starter at quarterback, that presents a challenge. “Catty throws the ball well and they have athletes. Plus, they will watch our Salisbury film and see the success that Salisbury had with their option game. So we fully expect to see a lot of option from them. But again we like our speed on defense.”

ROUGHIE RITES: Henrich cited Wright, DeLong, Northern Lehigh won last year’s meeting 42-12, and Catasauqua’s last win was in 2023 by a 48-22 score. Wright leads the team with 24 tackles ... Roughies’ quarterback Aiden Reilly has completed 45 of 92 passes for 338 yards with three touchdowns and eight interceptions ... Ruben Concepcion is the Roughies’ leading rusher with 196 yards and three touchdowns, and Josiah Martinez has 169 yards with three scores. Omar Pacheco Jr. has 15 catches for 124 yards with two touchdowns ... Northern Lehigh has won four of the last five meetings ... Northern Lehigh is coming off a 28-0 shutout of Salisbury, winning their third straight and outscoring their opponents, 112-13. Quarterback Garret Smoyer has completed 43 of 77 passes for 528 yards with eight touchdowns and one interception. Smoyer also has rushed 329 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. Mason Rothrock has rushed for 208 yards. Bill Slattery has 44 tackles, Paul Porobenski has 40, and Rothrock has 37. Slattery has four sacks and 5 tackles for loss (TFL) and Paul Porobenski has five sacks and six TFL.

PREDICTION (My season record 4-1): The Roughies will be glad to be back on their home field after the Notre Dame game. Unfortunately, they face a team that arguably is as hot as Notre Dame. If the Roughies are to be successful, they need to generate a strong running game with some play action. Northern Lehigh racked up 359 yards rushing with four scores on the ground last week. Their defense registered six sacks. Boys’ basketball head coach Eric Snyder can pick up a large bag of homemade pierogies from a place of his choice for me ... NORTHERN LEHIGH 31-14.