First-year Catasauqua football coach Joe Henrich figures it may take some time before his team would find their solid footing this season.

However, Henrich fears were quickly relieved, as he watched his team register a season-opening, 47-34 victory over Mahanoy Area.

He cited his skill players, who played a major role in the victory. Wide receiver Manny Bolmer caught four touchdowns, and scored a fifth on a fumble recovery, and first-year quarterback Aiden Reilly threw for 313 yards.

“The difference was we had some skill players that they struggled to handle,” said Henrich. “I really believe our kids worked their butts off and believed they could win.”

Despite an overall young squad, Henrich was confident about his team’s showing.

“It wasn’t a surprise because I knew we had the potential, and we saw little bit of that shine through.”

With the win, the Roughies will travel to Wilson Saturday afternoon. The Warriors were throttled, 47-0 by Northwestern, and they are in the midst of a 22-game losing streak. Their last win was on Oct. 30, 2021, and they have been outscored, 951-146, in the process.

Henrich sees it as another potential positive situation.

“We see the game as an opportunity to grow,” he said. “We know we have to be ready to play.”

PREDICTION (Season Record 1-0): Catty has the chance to begin the season with a 2-0 record for the first time since 2021 when they began the season with a 4-0 mark ... They began last season with a 1-1 mark ... Catty and Wilson last met in 2020 with the Roughies pulling out a 41-34 victory. Their last loss to the Warriors was in 2019 by a 53-8 deficit ... Reilly completed 12 of 15 passes and he also ran for 89 yards on 12 carries in his first varsity start. Bolmer scored five touchdowns, and caught five passes for 269 yards. Jordan Bradshaw also ran for 61 yards on 11 carries. Roughies had 462 yards of total offense ... Wilson quarterback Jeremy Cressman completed two of nine passes for nine years, and he ran for 37 yards on nine carries. The Warriors had 151 yards of total offense, but they gave up 232 rushing yards to Northwestern ... Catty will need to lower its 410 yards allowed last week ... This is the perfect menu for the Roughies before the Labor Day holiday. Wilson can a be a tough place to play, but Catty has all the signs pointed their way. Roughies need to avoid an obvious letdown here and quickly take care of business ... Roughies should be able to run the ball, and Reilly had a high percentage game last week ... I had my doubts last week, but Eric Snyder can treat me to some Yoccco’s Hot Dogs ... ROUGHIES, 34-7.