For the Catasauqua football team, it continues to be a learning process.

A young squad, the Rough Riders are finding their way in a shortened season that already has been filled with plenty of challenges.

Offensive line miscues coupled with a slow start provided a long Saturday afternoon for the Roughies at Pen Argyl last week where they suffered a 36-13 defeat.

The Roughies were within striking distance early down 15-0 when they drove inside the Pen Argyl 35-yard line, but they couldn’t convert. Instead, they went into the locker room at halftime, down 22-0.

“We started slow and had trouble with snaps,” said Roughies’ first-year head coach Travis Brett about his team. “We also had trouble handling some of their big linemen.

“We also had trouble executing. If we could have scored on one of our first drives, we could have made it a different game. We had a good week of practice, but it didn’t carry over.”

Freshman quarterback Nasir McLean completed eight of 13 attempts for 90 yards, 58 of them coming on a touchdown pass to senior Austin Brett, who caught six balls for 89 yards.

“Nasir (McLean) struggled in the first half,” said Brett. “He had time to throw, but some receivers were running the wrong routes. He (McLean) had some low throws. But he’s coming around.”

Junior Elijah Soler had a team-high 37 yards rushing, as Pen Argyl shut down the Roughies’ running game.

Brett understands the youth and ensuing inexperience.

“We had five freshmen and four sophomores out there at times,” he stated. “At least they’re getting good time under their belts. This was kind of a letdown considering how we played against Palmerton.

“But it is getting better.”

He noted that junior end Donoven Keys is lost for the season with a knee injury and sophomore cornerback Wyatt Younes is out this week. Senior tackle Ty Monahan should be back in the lineup.

The Roughies (0-2) will have their home opener Friday night at Alumni Field against blistering and undefeated Notre Dame (4-0), which had averaged 48 points per contest this year. The Crusaders are coming off a 48-7 pasting of Palmerton last week.

“They’re going to be tough,” said Brett. “They throw the ball all over the place and will go four or five wide.”

Brett knows the remaining weeks will be challenging.

“We’re young,” he said. “We keep saying it, but we are. The community has to be patient. It’s coming. In two years, we will be a good team.”

PREDICTION: Catty will need to sew their line difficulties to stay competitive. They also will need to open some holes for a running game that was productive the previous week against Palmerton. McLean will need to step up in the pocket and keep his poise. If the Roughies start slow, it will be a fast night for the visiting Crusaders, who usually don’t let their foot off the peddle … NOTRE DAME, 48-14.