At the time of this writing, there were 18 days until Catasauqua’s 101st meeting with Northampton for their annual Thanksgiving Day battle at Northampton.

For the Rough Riders, it will be a time of preparation and reflection.

The Roughies began a promising year with a 3-0 start, but then they stumbled through a season-ending, seven-game losing streak that saw them finish the regular season with an overall 3-7 slate.

Sophomore quarterback Aiden Reilly battled through his own injuries with a young team seeking to find its own level under first-year head coach Joe Henrich.

“I saw the season as a building process, obviously a whole new coaching staff and everything was kind of new to us,” said Reilly. “We didn’t have a lot of time to adjust to everything and all the new schemes, which is very hard to do.

“Overall, we have gained a lot throughout the year with a very young team, which helps a lot moving into next year.”

Over the next few weeks, Henrich has planned a loose environment.

The Roughies are practicing two days a week and lifting and meeting two other days out of a typical week.

“We’re trying to have some fun with the kids,” he stated. “We’re using the time to continue to grow as a team and focus on fundamentals.”

Reilly is anxious for his first Thanksgiving Day game in a lead role. He also knows his teammates are looking at the big picture.

“I’ve watched this game growing up as a kid for many years now, and I know it’s a really cool atmosphere and tradition with the community,” stressed Reilly. “The one thing that is helping us is that we have a lot of time until the game and in between.

“We aren’t really focusing on the game so much yet but we are building up into next year with things we may have not got to this year so it helps going into next year.”

Still, Reilly will enjoy the moment.

“I’m not really anxious that much yet, there is a lot of time yet until we play,” he added. “I don’t really get that feeling up until that week, but it’s nice to go and play another football game especially for the seniors.”