Heading into their annual Thanksgiving Day tilt against Northampton, Catasauqua senior lineman Jacob Ramos and his teammates have plenty of incentive from their 3-7 regular season.

“I think we are ready. We’ve been having great practices and we are excited for this game,” beamed Ramos. “I think it’s time where we turn it around and prove to everyone we are a good football team.

“I’m excited to have an extra game before I have to hang up my cleats.”

The Rough Riders will travel to Northampton’s Al Erdosy Field Thursday morning for a 10 a.m. kickoff. It will be the 101st clash between the two teams, and Northampton has won the last nine contests, most recently last year’s victory. Catty’s last win was in 2013 in a 43-28 victory, and it was their third-straight triumph in the series.

Catty began the season in promising fashion as they posted victories over Mahanoy Area (47-34), Wilson (34-14), and Palisades (22-14) under first-year head coach Joe Henrich.

But the Roughies then went into a tailspin, one in which they couldn’t recover.

Starting quarterback Aiden Reilly went down with injury for a period, and the team suffered seven consecutive decisions to finish the regular season.

The Roughies dropped contests to Salisbury (42-35), Notre Dame (63-7), Saucon Valley (62-14), Jim Thorpe (39-0), Northern Lehigh (27-3), Pen Argyl (14-7), and Palmerton (28-13). In that span, they were outscored, 275-76.

In the three-week span before the game, Henrich sought to keep the spirits light among his troops.

“We practiced two days a week, and we lifted,” he said about his methods in the initial weeks leading up to game week. “We tried to have some fun with the kids. We also wanted to use the time to continue to grow as a team and focus on fundamentals.”

Henrich noted that the Roughies were in many games, but they couldn’t finish the job.

“We were right there in many games, and then we would have breakdowns,” said Henrich. “We have made progress, and we have come together as a team. Our record doesn’t really reflect who we are. We were young and inexperienced, but we have grown.

“We had growth in many areas. Our offensive line was anchored by three seniors, and we had some younger guys like Braden Smith and Evan DeLong stepped up their game. Aiden made his share of mistakes, but he also made plenty of progress along the way.”

Henrich sees his team facing a stiff test against the Konkrete Kids.

“Northampton is a big, physical team,” he stressed. “They present a huge challenge for us. They will show up with their 75 kids to our 35.

“But our kids will be ready.”

PREDICTION: Northampton has an overall 63-33-4 advantage in the series ... Reilly has completed 76 of 139 passes for 1,222 yards with 12 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Reilly also has rushed for 214 yards ... Jordan Bradshaw, who also saw time at quarterback, is the Roughies’ leading rusher with 558 yards on 126 carries and three touchdowns. Cadeo Estronza has rushed for 262 yards and two touchdowns ... Manny Bolmer is the Roughies’ leading receiver with 30 catches for 645 yards and eight touchdowns. Josiah Lafond has caught 20 passes for 253 yards with three touchdowns, and Estronza has 20 catches for 218 yards ... Northampton can set the tone early with their running game and efficient passing game. Catty will need to play ball control because Northampton will look to jump out early and gain control. Look for it to be a first-half battle, and the Rough Riders’ defense needs to step up. Catty can stay in the game by avoiding the costly turnover, and they can’t lose the battle of attrition ... Roughies will keep it tight for a while, but coach Eric Snyder can save me a bag of pierogies and some Potts’ hot dogs when I see him during the season. K-KIDS, 35-17.