The expectation bar has been raised for the Catasauqua boys basketball program.
Last year, the Rough Riders came into the season off a 9-14 mark the previous winter, and when the team lost a bunch of close games early and started 0-4 and 2-6, it looked another disappointing scenario was developing.
But after losing, 48-47, to Pleasant Valley in the finals of a holiday basketball tournament at Northern Lehigh, something clicked.
Catty went on a 13-3 run that carried into the Colonial League tournament, where the Roughies upset perennial powers Notre Dame-Green Pond and Bangor and reached the finals before falling to Northwestern Lehigh.
Rather than hang their heads and shrug their shoulders about what didn’t happen, Catty went out and made something special happen. The Roughies beat Williams Valley, Mahanoy Area, and Minersville to claim the District 11 3A championship at Pottsville’s fabled Martz Hall.
It was the storied program’s first district gold since 2006, and along the way, the team stirred memories of the past and had older fans thinking about the glory days of Catty hoops when Larry Miller’s teams packed Lincoln Gym and won three straight district golds in the early 1960s.
Catty capped off their run with a win over a Philadelphia team in the first round of the state tournament, but couldn’t extend the season further as a heartbreaking loss to Lancaster Mennonite ended the feel-good story.
But the final chapter for many of the kids who made last year special hasn’t been written.
There’s one more big season left for standout players such as Frankie Pujols, Hamaad Jenkins, and Reece Lopez, who want another crack at the league title that eluded the Roughies last season and a deeper run in the PIAA tournament.
“These kids are confident and they believe in themselves,” veteran coach Eric Snyder said. “The practices have been unbelievably intense and they’re focused. These kids don’t let up.”
The team doesn’t have everyone back from last season. Two key players who gave the team height and an inside presence – Matt Fotta and Jeremiah Cofie – each played 30 games last season and combined for more than 320 points.
“They were 6-foot-4, and 6-foot-2, and they were big on the boards and made a lot of things happen,” Snyder said. “They were physical and strong. Aalani Nix, who played a lot as a freshman as our sixth man, will step into one of those spots, and Caiden Weaver, who’s only 5-foot-10 but plays his heart out, will be the other starter.”
Snyder said the team worked hard through the offseason.
“My son James does so much with them, lifting with them in the summer and in the fall, and he works with them and keeps them going,” Snyder said. “He even goes in with them after practice now for a quick workout. The kids are laser-focused and ready to go. But we’ve talked about it. We can’t be complacent.”
As good as the finish to the season was last year, the start was largely frustrating because the Roughies couldn’t hold on to leads. Finishing stronger from the start of the season has been a focus.
“They have brought it and they have talked about it,” Snyder said. “We opened up at Bangor, and we lost a close one by two because we missed foul shots. We lost by four to Southern Lehigh and by one at Saucon. The kids are determined not to have that happen again.”
Pujols, who averaged 17.3 points per game last season, is closing in on 900 points in his career. Jenkins and Lopez, who averaged just over 10 points per game last season, are looking forward to an uptempo game that creates pressure on the defensive end and fastbreak opportunities on offense.
“We’ve been working hard at practice, and while we have to replace Fotta and Cofie, we have guys who are ready to step up,” Pujols said. “We’re going to try to run it back. We started slow last year, but we knew what we had to do coming off the New Year’s break.”
“We lost our big men, but have quick guards,” Jenkins said. “We have a younger team, and we will miss the guys we lost. We just have to work harder on boxing out. We had a good offseason playing a lot of summer league games and working in the weight room. We’ve got good team chemistry.”
And that chemistry could lead to an excited community. Reflecting on last season, Snyder, who was a Morning Call co-coach of the year along with Northampton’s Matt Scholl, said, “It was a nice feeling, especially when the community came out like they did. We hosted a state playoff game here, and it was neat to see all of the alumni come back. It wasn’t standing-room-only, but the place was packed. It would be great to do that again.”
Catasauqua at a glance
Coach: Eric Snyder (34th season, 394-421).
Last season: 19-11, 10-8 (third in South).
Postseason: In Colonial League tourney, beat Notre Dame-Green Pond 69-66, beat Bangor 46-31, lost to Northwestern Lehigh 74-57 in finals. In District 11 3A tourney, beat Williams Valley 58-44, beat Mahanoy Area 61-36, beat Minersville 61-50 for the title. In the PIAA tourney, beat Philadelphia Academy Charter 70-43, lost to Lancaster Mennonite 51-49.
Season and league opener: Host Bangor, Dec. 2
Nonleague games: Play Pleasant Valley Dec. 29 in Slatington Rotary holiday tournament; play either Bethlehem Christian or Northern Lehigh, Dec. 30 in Slatington Rotary tournament consolation or championship; host Kutztown, Jan. 17; at Notre Dame-East Stroudsburg, Jan. 30.
Players to watch: Franklin Pujols (Sr. G); Jomar Rosado (Sr. G); Reece Lopez (Sr. G); Manny Bolmer (Sr. F); Hamaad Jenkins (Sr. G); Caiden Weaver (Sr. F): Richard Chapparo So. F): Joseph Conway (So. F/C); Jayvien Vaz (So. G); Asael Gonzalez (Jr. G); Dylan Lorah (Sr. F); Cody Roth (So. G); Aalani Nix (So. G); Evan Delong (So. C).
Of note: The Roughies gym will feature a bright, state-of-the-art scoreboard that includes a video screen. … The home game on Jan. 17 against Kutztown is part of a girl-boy doubleheader with a Hall of Fame ceremony set for between games. … Catty will get two players back from the football team, Bomer and Delong, after Thursday’s game against Northampton. …. Snyder’s coaching staff features his son James, who is the JV coach and his brother Marc, the freshman coach. The volunteer coaches include Colin Hawk, Jim Luchansky, Adam Landis, Kevin Carter, Bob Bogwist, Brandon Canada and Jacob Smith. Tom Reap, who has been part of the Catty sports scene for decades, is the team manager.
