Catasauqua’s 2013 football team will go down in the Rough Rider annals as one of the great ones.

They finished the year with an overall 13-1 mark, losing their lone game to Imhotep Charter in a PIAA 2A quarterfinal. The Roughies captured both Colonial League and District 11 championships.

Yet, the Roughies had a classic Thanksgiving Day tilt with Northampton that year, taking a 30-0 lead before they staved off a late Northampton rally for a 43-28 victory in the 91st meeting between the teams.

In this first in a series of former Catasauqua-Northampton matchups, I’ll take a look at the game with some of its personalities.

For the first time since 1968, the game was played at Muhlenberg College due to Al Erdosy Stadium being impacted by the school district’s middle school construction project.

Catty wide receiver Paryss Marshall was voted Catty’s MVP after he made two interceptions, one that was returned 67 yards for a touchdown, and also caught four passes for 125 yards with a touchdown. Devin Flores scores three rushing touchdowns for the Roughies (13-1).

Northampton quarterback Nick Cook threw for a pair of touchdowns, and Justin Tabb scored a pair for the Konkrete Kids, who finished 0-12 overall.

Roughies quarterback Zach Bradley has plenty of fond memories from the contest.

“Yes, I’ll remember that game for the rest of my life,” said Bradley, who is an assistant coach at Parkland. “We came out strong and basically everything was working. Our offense was operating on all cylinders. I will also always remember Paryss’s one-handed, behind the back interception in that game.

“Once we were up 30-0, we decided to put our younger guys in because we had a state game two days later. That’s when Northampton started to make a comeback against our JV team and the starters actually had to reenter the game so we could seal it. That game was our last chance to play together against Northampton and the last chance to win a big game for our town, who we were always playing for. One thing I also remember is it being extremely cold that day. Warm-ups were brutal and anything but warm.

“I also remember our passing game really clicking and us utilizing all of the great athletes we had Marshall, Jacob Stopay, and Derrick Bond. It just felt like everything was working.”

Stopay also has some lasting recollections from the games. He is the current head freshman coach at Northampton.

“The game is such an awesome tradition, and I was fortunate enough to be on the winning side three years in a row,” said Stopay. “Our coaches always preached how much the game meant to everyone in the community and it showed because the crowds on Thanksgiving were always incredible. The buildup throughout the week with the pep rally and bonfire are memories that really stick with you.

“Playing at Muhlenberg that year was a great experience. We were in a unique situation because we had a state playoff game two days later. But, our coaches emphasized the importance of that game so that was our main focus. I remember jumping out to an early lead and a lot of our starters got pulled. Northampton made it close in the second half and I remember a lot of the starters going back in the game. Fortunately, we were able to hang on.”