On his team’s second possession against Palmerton, Catasauqua head football coach Travis Brett didn’t have a good feeling.

The Rough Riders had a punt blocked by Palmerton’s Danny Lucykanish, who returned it 45 yards for a score. From there, it was all the host Blue Bombers in a 42-16 rout last week.

“On our first series, we drove the ball down the field, but then we had a false start and a holding call,” recalled Brett. “On the blocked punt, Jyzaiah Bonilla got pushed back into our punter.

“They got things rolling after that. We had some blown assignments on the line and our tackles didn’t play well. Our guards were fine. Our center missed some things and maybe he was tired because he was going two ways.”

Quarterback Christian Fye struggled in the opening half, as he connected on 2 of 11 passes 23 yards with an interception. He was replaced by Aiden Hess in the second half with the Roughies down 35-0. Hess went 2-for-6 for 52 yards with a touchdown.

“Fye didn’t have a good game for us,” said Brett. ”We have to work on him sitting in the pocket. When he got pressure, he ran outside. He needs to step up in the pocket.

“Hess ran the ball well, and he is not afraid to lower his shoulder. He steps up in the pocket and throws a deep ball.”

Running back/linebacker Anthonie Hunsicker continues to nurse a knee issue, and he left the Palmerton game with a head blow. Brett wasn’t positive if it was a possible concussion.

With his club 0-2 going into Hometown Friday night to meet Marian Catholic (1-1), Brett isn’t worried.

“They run the ball,” said Brett. “We’ll have to go to a 5-2 front against them. We don’t see anything on film that worries us. We should be able to handle them.

“They will come out fired up, and we’ll have to execute. We’ll clean it up and be ready to go. Our kids were frustrated about what happened, and they’ll have to take it out on the field. We feel if we can win this one, we can take it from there. But we can’t take anything for granted.”

PREDICTION: Roughies had 32 total yards in the first half against Palmerton. Brett restated the fact that Palmerton quarterback Matt Machalik is “the best in the Lehigh Valley. They have some good skill people and a couple of good linemen.” ... Chad Beller was the Roughies’ leading rusher with 53 yards on six carries. Bonilla has 130 yards rushing and Wyatt Younes has nine catches for 84 yards through two games ... Marian running back Matt Martin had 122 yards on 31 carries in their 20-12 loss to Minersville last week ... Brett stated that Hunter Reitz will not undergo left knee surgery, and he has a scar tissue tear. He will rehab this week, and is expected back for the Roughies’ home opener against Mahanoy next week ... Wide receiver Ian Juica has a shoulder sprain, but he is expected to play ... This is a must game for the Roughies, and Brett is confident his team can shake their mistakes. A loss here could fracture the season. Brett expects his team in the district playoffs and have a strong second half of the season ... This is a huge character test, and Brett is a taskmaster ... Roughies will get a much-needed first win, and Eric Snyder will owe me a cheesesteak from the Catty Corner ... ROUGHIES, 23-14.