Playing Panther Valley last Friday night was a perfect panacea for Catasauqua’s football team.

The visiting Panthers entered Catty’s Alumni Stadium with a 2-5 record and were riding a three-game losing streak. The previous week, they were pummeled, 73-8, by Schuylkill Haven.

In similar fashion, the Rough Riders were saddled with a three-game deficit, and their district playoff hopes were beginning to dwindle.

So, how did Catty respond?

The Roughs took control from the start of the game and rolled to a convincing 55-6 victory. The win evened their record at 4-4 overall and the Roughs sit in the third spot in the District 11 Class 2A bracket that will take four teams for the postseason.

Head coach Travis Brett was well aware of the magnitude of the game.

“It was a good win,” he said. “I think it was definitely important for these kids to get a win after a couple of tough losses. It was more of a mental win than a physical one.”

Brett was impressed with his running game from Hunter Reitz and Jyzaiah Bonilla, who ran for 68 and 75 yards respectively. Quarterback Aiden Hess completed 10 of 18 for 123 yards with three touchdowns, and Chad Beller had 11 tackles and three sacks.

Reitz, Bonilla, Beller, Dylan Pacheco, Brenden Eck, Cadeo Estronza, Rodney Brodie, and Ian Juica scored touchdowns on the night. Brett also knew that it wasn’t a perfect night.

“Reitz and Bonilla ran the ball well,” noted Brett. “Hess threw the ball well, and Dylan Pacheco had a few nice catches. Rodney Brodie had another long touchdown and Beller was dominant on defense.

“There were times when we were still sloppy,” he added. “We threw an interception and had five penalties for 50 yards in the first quarter.”

Still, Reitz and Hess realized the importance of the game especially with a matchup at Palisades Friday night.

“It was a huge win,” he stated. “That gives us a lot of momentum and confidence heading into Palisades.”

“It definitely was a win we needed,” confirmed Hess. “We were on a three-game losing streak, so this was a game to build our confidence.”

Lineman Matt Fotta also felt relieved.

“It was huge for us especially losing two straight at home,” he said. “I felt we needed a blowout win. The energy was great, and our confidence and morale are back up.

“The line this season has had a massive improvement in the pass game, and we are just waiting on the run game to come along, which has been great the past two weeks.”

Fotta still sees a return trip to the district final in the Roughies’ future.

“We are getting better and better each week,” he added. “We’re still working for that first-place medal.”

PREDICTION (Overall record 4-4): Palisades is coming off a 38-12 loss at Minersville, and the Pirates sank to 2-6 overall. The Pirates are currently sixth in the same district bracket. Minersville’s Luke Stevenosky ran for 238 yards with three touchdowns against Palisades after he had 202 with three touchdowns against Catty the previous week ... Reitz has a team-high 462 yards on 72 carries followed by Bonilla, 181-55; Hess, 249-55; and Beller 161-22 ... Ian Jucia has a team-high 34 catches for 524 yards with eight touchdowns followed by Jordan Bradshaw, who has 28 receptions for 233 ... Beller is the league leader in tackles with 118 and also has three sacks. Pacheco has 37 stops and Bonilla has 35 ... Sophomore Jack trickle has taken over at quarterback for the Pirates. He completed four of 14 for 77 yards with a pair of touchdown passes against Minersville last week ... Minersville held Palisades to 34 yards rushing last week ... John Haubert has a team-high 262 yards with six touchdowns, and Kyle Kirsch has 247 with two touchdowns ... Both teams expect this to be a grind-it-out kind of game, and it will be physical ... Catty got a big lift, and Palisades has struggled. Catty will need to pound the ball, and they appear to be back on track ... Roughies will still play in a desperate mode, but Palisades will take the same approach ... Roughies are a bit better, but they will need to keep their foot on the pedal ... However, this should be another classic between the two teams ... Coach Snyder can pick me up a cheesesteak from the Catty Corner. Just ketchup and raw onions, please ... ROUGHIES 24-18.