It was another week of Catasauqua being in the game, and the Rough Riders experiencing some growing pains.

They went into halftime trailing Pen Argyl 7-0, and Catty just fell short in a 14-7 defeat to the Green Knights at Alumni Field last Friday night. After a 3-0 start, it was the Roughies’ sixth-straight defeat, and they have been outscored during the span 247-66, after winning their first three and outscoring their opponents, 103-62.

Starting quarterback Aiden Reilly was sidelined with a concussion and frequent starter Jordan Bradshaw again stepped in for Reilly, who has missed several games this season. Against Pen Argyl, Bradshaw completed 14 of 26 attempts for 96 yards with an interception, and he ran for 52 yards on 19 carries.

Cadeo Estronza had a team-high 60 yards rushing on 14 carries, and Josiah Lafond had six catches for 44 yards.

Henrich was proud of Bradshaw’s adaptation, but he also realizes his team could have pulled out a victory. Both teams came into the game with 3-5 records.

“We knew we would be a run-heavy offense because Jordan is not a quarterback,” said Henrich. “He’s not going to sit back in the pocket and throw like Aiden can, but he made some great plays.

“This one hurt. The kids had a good feeling about this game, and we are very similar football teams. We’re young, but there are no moral victories. We played a good game, but we made a couple more mental mistakes than they did. We had opportunities.”

Henrich has seen growth from lineman freshman Evan Delong and junior Braeden Smith, both of whom will have pivotal roles in the future.

The Roughies will end the regular-season Friday night when they travel to Palmerton, which is coming off a 52-0 loss to Notre Dame. The Blue Bombers (2-7) have lost two straight after they won two straight following a five-game losing streak to begin the season.

In some ways, Henrich sees a mirror image of Palmerton with his team.

“They have a quarterback who can run and throw, and they have some size,” he said. “They have had some opportunities and have struggled. We’ll have to be disciplined.

“It will be a game in which we can be very competitive.”

PREDICTION (season record 3-6): Palmerton has won the last five meetings between the two teams. They downed Catty 27-7 last season ... If Reilly can’t go at quarterback, Jordan Bradshaw will make the start again. Bradshaw has completed 27 of 49 attempts for 224 yards with three interceptions. He also is the team’s leading rusher for the season with 458 yards on 108 carries with three touchdowns. Manny Bolmer lead the team in receptions with 30 for 645 yards with eight touchdowns. Chris Wellington has a team-high 34 tackles with a sack. The Roughies’ run defense has allowed 199.78 yards per game and 142.89 through the pass ... Palmerton quarterback Jameson Trainer has completed 79 of 156 passes for 822 yards with nine touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He also is the team’s leading rusher with 1,006 yards on 146 yards with 12 touchdowns. Vincent Taglieri has been his prime target, catching 28 passes for 340 yards with four touchdowns ... Roughies will need to corral Trainer, who can hurt them with his legs. Stopping the run has been a major problem for the Roughies all season. Palmerton will likely take advantage of the situation, and the Blue Bombers’ home always is a tough place to play ... Like to see the Roughies close it out with a win on the road before districts, but I’ll owe boys’ basketball coach Eric Snyder some Potts’ hot dogs ... PALMERTON, 21-14.