In their 39-0 loss at Jim Thorpe last week, Catasauqua head football coach Joe Henrich saw the same scene the previous week in a 62-14 loss to Notre Dame.

“It was a little bit like the previous week,” said Henrich. “We had some self–inflicted wounds early on and we got behind 21-0. It’s hard to get behind with a young team.

“They scored on their first drive, and then we had some big plays that got called back for penalties. We just have to continue to work to get better. So many mistakes are correctable.”

Starting quarterback, sophomore Aiden Reilly, returned to the lineup after he missed the previous two weeks. Reilly completed eight of 14 passes for 68 yards, but he threw three interceptions.

“He did some nice things, but he had some rust,” said Henrich about his quarterback. “I know what he wants to do, and he wants to win. He’ll keep working, and he’ll get better.

“We really didn’t have anyone who really stood out for us.”

Henrich also knows his team still needs to adapt.

“We are working on our mentality at practice,” added Henrich. “They appeared to be not used to working to have attention to detail. They still are not used to the level to where we would want them to be.”

Henrich does expect senior running back Jordan Bradshaw to get back into the flow after he was the team’s quarterback the last two weeks. Bradshaw was held to 15 yards on seven carries.

“It’s not fair to evaluate Bradshaw lately,” said Henrich. “He was out of his position the last two weeks. We know he can be an effective running back for us once we can get into some kind of offensive flow. We know what Bradshaw is capable of doing.”

Life won’t get any easier for the Rough Riders (3-4) this week when they host Northern Lehigh, which is coming off 42-7 rout of Wilson last week. The Bulldogs (5-2) have won three of their last four games.

“They’re like any other Northern Lehigh team being run-oriented,” said Henrich. “They’re well-coached and won’t make a lot of mistakes. They execute at a high level and will be a huge challenge for us. We have to be able to execute at a higher level.

“At the start of the season, we were executing better and forcing turnovers. We need to put together a game where we can excel on offense, defense and special teams.”

PREDICTION (Season record 3-4): For the season, Reilly has completed 53 of 92 attempts for 912 yards with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions. Reilly had 12 punts against Jim Thorpe ... Bradshaw is the team’s leading rusher with 366 yards on 76 carries, and Cadeo Estronza has 196 yards on 25 carries. Manny Bolmer had 22 receptions for 543 yards with eight touchdowns. Chris Wellington leads the team in tackles with 51 tackles, and Bolmer and Tyler Limandri each have 36. The Roughies have allowed 191.29 rushing yards per game ... Northern Lehigh had six different players score touchdowns in the Wilson win. Bulldogs’ quarterback Garrett Smoyer completed 8 of 17 passes for 144 yards with two touchdowns and one interception against Wilson. For the season, Smoyer has completed 42 of 70 attempts for 771 yards with 10 touchdowns and four interceptions. Running back Grady Newhard ran 107 yards with a touchdown last week, and he has 610 yards with eight touchdowns for the season. Chris Frame is the Bulldogs’ leading receiver with 15 catches for 401 yards with five touchdowns ... Over their last five meetings, Bulldogs have won three of them. Catty won last year’s game, 48-22 ... With the Roughies at Alumni Field, this should be a close game. It will come down to whether the Roughies can avoid the turnovers and mistakes. They do have trouble stopping the run, and that will be a factor. I believe Catty can regain some of the touch they had in their first three games, but will it be enough? Northern Lehigh is playing well, and a win will keep them in the running for the top-three spots in Class 2A playoff spot, and the Roughies are still on the periphery ... Head says Northern Lehigh, but heart says Catty. Roughies can begin to end season on a high note. Tough one, but I’ll owe boys’ basketball coach Eric Snyder some Potts’ hot dogs ... NORTHERN LEHIGH, 24-20.