Last season, Catasauqua’s loss to Marian Catholic proved to be a sticking point with the team, as head coach Travis Brett believed their 12-7 defeat should have not happened.

So, when the Rough Rider began the season, beating Marian was a top priority to the start of this year.

Catty answered the call last week when they blanked the Colts, 28-0, at Alumni Stadium.

The Rough Riders took control of the game in the first half when they stormed out to a 21-0 lead on Aiden Hess’s two touchdown passes to Ian Juica, who caught six balls for 110 yards.

The junior quarterback finished the game completing 10-of-15 passes for 145 yards and had an interception. Hess also rushed for 41 yards. Jyzaiah Bonilla led the team with 77 yards rushing, and Hunter Reitz had 39 yards.

Hess saw the game as an opportunity to regain their stance, especially after their loss to Palmerton last week.

“After our loss last week, there was definitely some momentum we had to regain,” he said. “But I think we had a good performance all around. We were able to pass and pound the ball on them, and we played as a team [Friday] night.”

Brett liked what he saw this time around. The Roughies’ defense limited Marian’s rushing game to 16 yards and only 138 yards of total offense.

“It was a pretty good night for us, but we still have a lot to clean up,” said Brett. “We left a lot of points on the board in the second half. Hess threw a pick inside the five, and then Beller fumbled later on.

“Hess played well besides the INT, but he was just trying to do too much on the play. But he threw the ball well and also made some plays in the running game. Juica has another big game for us.”

The Roughies will travel to Mahanoy Area Friday night. The Golden Bears picked up their first victory of the season last week when they routed Panther Valley, 40-0.

Brett knows his team can’t let off the pedal.

“Mahanoy has struggled a bit,” said Brett. “They have a very athletic running back/safety, who will have to be ready for. We like our speed against them, but we have to travel up there.”

PREDICTION (Overall record 2-1): Overall, Hess has completed 35 of 60 attempts for 583 yards with seven touchdowns and two interceptions ... Hess leads the team in rushing with 132 yards, Reitz has 126, and Bonilla has 100 ... Juica is the leading receiver with 16 receptions for 295 yards ... Chad Beller led the teams in tackles with 15. For the season, Beller has 56 stops and is averaging 18 per game ... Mahanoy lost its first two games to Harrison (17-14) and Pen Argyl (43-13) ... Golden Bears’ quarterback Levi Terry has thrown for 295 yards with two touchdowns, and running back Kyler Quick has 182 yards rushing. Receiver Ethan Manley has 11 catches for 116 yards ... At home, the Roughies blanked Mahanoy, 23-0 ... Quick rushed for 84 yards and teammate Colm McGroarty had 85 yards in last week’s victory over Panther Valley. McGroarty has 174 for the season ... Over the past few years, the Roughies have run into some trouble when they head to Schuylkill County. However, they were 4-1 last season and 3-1 in 2021 against Schuylkill opponents ... They are healthy and will be anxious to get a winning streak going. Last season, they started 0-3 and then won five straight ... The Marian win was a huge boost of confidence and should get them back on track ... It’s hard to gauge how good Mahanoy is based on their first three games ... Roughies need a strong defensive effort against the run again here. This will be a grind-it-out battle, but Roughies need this one ... Hey coach Snyder, can you please pick up some pierogi casseroles from Blondies? ... ROUGHIES, 28-10.