Heading into their annual Thanksgiving Day tilt with Northampton, Catasauqua had coach Travis Brett anticipated it would be a physical game with an opponent that more size and a running back with big-play capabilities. Stopping the run was an Achilles’ heel for the Rough Riders all season.

Unfortunately, Brett and his troops were right.

Northampton won its ninth-straight meeting in the series, as the Konkrete Kids wore down the Roughies en route to a 47-7 victory in the 100th meeting between the two teams. Northampton With now has a 63-34-3 edge in the series.

With the loss, the Rough Riders ended their season at 6-6, while Northampton finished 10-3.

The Kids’ Caden Henritzy, who was limited the past two games due to an ankle injury, was at full speed and ran for 139 yards with two touchdowns, one an 84-yarder.

“They are a physical team, and it was hard to stop their running game,” said Brett. “Henritzy was the best back we have seen all year, and he ran hard.”

Brett stated that unforced turnovers, which also plagued the team all year, definitely slowed them. Catty had five offsides penalties and one personal foul. Northampton also returned two interceptions for touchdowns.

“Offensively, we moved the ball on them, but we shout ourselves in the foot with turnovers and penalties,” added Bett. “They are a tough opponent to fall behind early on, but our kids battled and fought all game long. We are proud of their effort.”

Senior running back Hunter Reitz, who was the team’s offensive MVP with 95 yards and 22 carries, enjoyed the full experience over his four years.

“They (Northampton) were a big, physical team, and we had way too many penalties,” said Reitz. “We had way too many offensive penalties. I thought we ran the ball pretty well.

“These four years have been a crazy ride from setting a freshman single-game rushing record to missing almost two years was something I wasn’t expecting.

“I believe this year was pretty successful. I won’t be playing football anymore, but I believe I will start coaching.”

Brett noted that quarterback Aiden Hess, who threw for 1,852 yards with 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, will return along with Manny Bolmer, Jordan Bradshaw, Rodney Brodie, and Caden Estronza in the backfield and on the ends.

Up front, the Roughies will bring back Jacob Ramos, Matt Fotta, Braeden Smith, Eli Voorhees, and Chris Wellington.

“We started four underclassmen on the line, and we’ll have seven offensive starters back,” said Brett. “Defensively, we return four guys who got a lot of playing time on the defensive line, and two guys who got a lot of playing time in the secondary.

“We’ll look to get back at it soon.”