Thanksgiving Day Football – Pt. 1 (Northampton v. Catasauqua)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Northampton and Catasauqua both came into this game after disappointing seasons. Northampton finished their season with a 5-6 record. Their best win coming against Bethlehem Catholic in a 21-20 thriller. Catasauqua finished the season with a 3-7 record. Their best win coming against Mahanoy Area in a 47-34 shoot-out. Both teams enter the game looking to send their Seniors off on a high note.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Catasauqua started the game with the football. On that drive Aiden Reilly hit Emmanuel Boomer on a 29-yard connection. This set up Jordan Bradshaw's 12-yard score with 9:17 left in the 1st. *7-0 Catasauqua*</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Northampton was able to answer on their first possession with a 5-yard Ezekiel "Zeke" Spencer rushing TD. The PAT was missed due to a bad snap. Catasauqua still leads 7-6 with 3:26 remaining in the 1st. Northampton's Keegan Hackett was able to create pressure forcing a fumble that was recovered by Northampton's Alex Morales. *2:34 in the 1st - 7-6 Catasauqua*</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Northampton's star RB William "Billy" Stuhldreher took advantage of the turnover on the next possession. Billy took a 3-yard run to the house. 2-point conversion attempt no good with 2:03 left in the first. *12-7 Northampton*</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Northampton QB [player_tooltip player_id='1155813' first='Gavin' last='Taff'] had a clutch 4th and 2 play where he ran for 7-yards to pick up the first down. This set up Catasauqua transfer QB [player_tooltip player_id='1077301' first='Aiden' last='Hess'] to score from 1-yard out to give Northampton a 19-7 lead with 10:04 remaining in the 2nd. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Zeke Spencer had a huge play in the middle of the 2nd quarter. He ran for a 69-yard TD to give Northampton a 26-7 lead. Spencer rushed for 81-yards and a pair of TD's. A great game from the Junior RB. He showed lots of great flashes today. Northampton needs to be excited about him next season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Northampton primarily struggled on Special Teams today. At the 3:39 mark in the 2nd Quarter they did just that. Northampton had a bad snap on their punt. The ball was recovered by Catasauqua's Christopher Wellington. This set up a Manny Bolmer 8-yard score. Sending the game into the break with Northampton leading 26-14.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Konkrete Kids opened the 2nd half with a bang. Billy Stuhldreher had a huge 49-yard TD run to give the Kids some momentum to start the 3rd Quarter. That made the score 33-14 with 9:55 remaining in the 3rd.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Northampton extended their lead with a 43-yard touchdown pass from [player_tooltip player_id='1155813' first='Gavin' last='Taff'] to Junior [player_tooltip player_id='1352748' first='Cameron' last='Hersch']. The two-point conversion was no good. The score now sits at 39-14 Konkrete Kids. Hersch made an even better play than his first TD when he took a pass 99-yard pass from [player_tooltip player_id='1077301' first='Aiden' last='Hess'] to the end zone for a TD. Hersch made a great play on the ball, and I'm excited to see that play on his tape. *45-14 Northampton*</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Konkrete Kids defense wanted to get in on the action. With 1:20 remaining in the 3rd Quarter Senior Aiden Brearman picked off a pass for Northampton. This set up a great [player_tooltip player_id='1077301' first='Aiden' last='Hess'] 36-yard TD run to make the score 51-14 Northampton heading into the 4th. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Not much action in the 4th due to a mercy-rule being put into effect. Although Northampton did get Joseph Tomaro into the end zone for a 2-yard score with 4:40 left in the game. Northampton would go on to win 58-14. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Northampton awarded Billy Stuhldreher as the game MVP. Billy finished the game with 15 carries for 109-yards and 2 scores. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Catasauqua named QB Aiden Reilly as their game MVP. Aiden finished 12-19 for 84-yards and a TD. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This was the 101st meeting between Northampton and Catasauqua. A yearly tradition where two programs come together to play rivalry football on Thanksgiving. Northampton now leads the series 64-33-4. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->