CATASAUQUA, Pa. — Nothing has proved powerful enough to stop Catty versus the Kids on Turkey Day.
Not a world war. Not the assassination of a president. Not lopsided victories nor perennial dominance of one over the other.
Only the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 has halted the Catasauqua-Northampton football game on Thanksgiving Day, a tradition that kicked off 100 years ago with a Catasauqua 22-6 victory.
In much the same way, growing concerns that the game had become player-safety risky for low-enrollment Catty against the high-enrollment Konkrete Kids has failed to sound the final gun.
The game pitting the Roughies against the Kids goes on.
The Catasauqua Area School Board on Tuesday night voted 6-2 (with one board member absent) in favor of continuing the school’s annual football game against neighboring Northampton in a meeting at Sheckler Elementary School.
Voting against continuing the game were board members Jeremy Smale and Eric DeLabar.
At recent board meetings, safety concerns voiced by the Catasauqua superintendent and some school board members due to the disparity in strength and roster size, and unbalanced competition between the PIAA Class 2A Catasauqua football classification and much-larger Class 6A Northampton, placed the future of the game in jeopardy.
But community passion for the rivalry superseded worries over potential injuries to Catasauqua players.
The community spoke. A petition to continue the rivalry reportedly numbered more than 1,500.
The school board listened. And when the vote was announced, the room erupted in applause.
“I’m glad they’re keeping the game,” said Zachary Panto, a 2012 Catasauqua graduate and former player, who wore his 2011 Turkey Day hooded sweatshirt.
“The disciplines I learned from playing football contributed to my going from a timid youngster to my eventual appointment to the West Point Military Academy and service with the 82nd Airborne Division.
“Catasauqua football taught me grit and excellence. This is more than just a game. I’m happy they decided to continue the game.”
PIAA classifications are determined by school enrollment.
Tale of the tape
Catasauqua Area High School has 471 students enrolled and 232 boys in ninth through 11th grades.
Northampton Area High School has 1,926 students enrolled and 990 boys in ninth through 11th grades.
"This is more than just a game. I’m happy they decided to continue the game.”Zachary Panto, Class of 2012, and former Catasauqua football player
Board member Jason Bashaw voted to continue the game against Northampton. He publicly thanked the school district administration for providing the board detailed data and research about the issue.
“I’ve learned a lot over these last few months,” Bashaw said. “My decision really went with — it was a tough decision, it wasn’t easy, and I’m not going to sit here and pretend it was.”
Conversely, the board's Smale voted against continuing the rivalry based on data that showed Northampton holding a distinct imbalance in enrollment and player size.
“The increase in size that Northampton has been able to have because of its geographic location is a reason,” Smale said. “Ours, we’ve been locked, so our opportunity for student growth has been less.
“To continue a game that made sense 100 years ago, and to apply those same decision-making factors to today, was not what I was looking at. I was looking at what are we doing going forward and does it still make sense for our students?”
A Catasauqua graduate, Smale was among those kids waking up Thanksgiving morning anticipating the game.
“I remember what that felt like leading up to the game,” he said. “I don’t want to discount that.
“But my decision wasn’t based on what I felt when I was in school; my decision was what I think is best for the students in school now.”
Lopsided record
Despite the vote to retain the game, the disparity between Catasauqua and Northampton is telling.
Over their past 30 meetings, Northampton has won 23, including the past 10.
Last season, Northampton defeated Catasauqua, 58-14. The victory was the Konkrete Kids’ seventh straight over the Rough Riders and 17th in their last 20 meetings.
The win by Northampton last November was its seventh in a row by at least 27 points and stretched its all-time series lead to 64-33-4.
Northampton has about three times the number of players on its football roster than Catasauqua: 125 to 40.
Given its dearth of players, many of the Rough Riders play both offense and defense, increasing instances of fatigue and chances of injury.
Northampton’s top nine strongest players outweigh those of Catasauqua by 43 pounds per person, Catasauqua second-year head football coach Joe Henrich has said.
Northampton’s athletes also outpace Catasauqua on strength benchmarks by a combined average of 263 pounds per player, according to Henrich.
“This four-classification gap and large male enrollment difference creates significant challenges not only in terms of fair competition, but in player safety, depth and program development,” Henrich said during a school board meeting last month.
“To the best of our knowledge, the Catty-Northampton football game is the only football game in the state of Pennsylvania that matches a 2A team against a 6A team.”
Catasauqua sophomore football player Aiden Reilly said the impact of the Thanksgiving Day game against Northampton extends beyond the playing field.
“This is more than a football game,” Reilly told the board. “This game brings the community together.”
