Joe Tout has been waiting for a game like this all season.

While the Northern Lehigh head coach has enjoyed a number of wins before Friday night’s contest, his Bulldogs have often suffered through poor starts and inconsistent play.

That wasn’t the case, though, in front of a big homecoming crowd as his team jumped out early and played a complete game in gaining a 42-12 victory over Catasauqua.

“We talked about being consistent, and I thought we did a good job of that tonight,” said Tout. “We were definitely more consistent. … We’re hoping that we’re hitting our stride now.”

While most teams usually defer to the second half after winning the game’s coin toss, Nolehi’s mentor instead opted to take the ball.

The hope was to finally open strong and keep that momentum going forward.

“We wanted to get off to a fast start,” said Tout. “That was kind of the premise. We won the toss, we took the ball.

“I thought the first half offensively we were really good with our balance, run and pass … and our defense, that was a big improvement. We’ll see what the tackles for loss were, but we had multiple ones tonight. I thought our guys played really well defensively. I thought it was a complete game.”

The Bulldogs’ balance really showed in their opening drive, running four times and throwing four times during an eight-play, 74-yard drive that kick-started the home team’s evening. Garrett Smoyer’s 21-yard pass to Ryan Zambo was a key play during the march, and Grady Newhard finished it off with a 28-yard touchdown run down the left side.

“That was one of the first times this season we won the toss, so definitely going back to the locker room knowing we were going to get the ball and then coming out … that’s one of the things we’ve been trying to harp on is getting off to a fast start,” said Newhard, who finished the game with 109 rushing yards and three scores.

“In games past, we waited (to get going) and the games were too close, but tonight the crowd got behind us and it seemed like the whole town was out here for homecoming, and I’m really proud of our guys. It was a really great effort against a gritty Catty team.”

Tout’s club actually scored the first three times it had the ball, building a 22-0 lead early in the second quarter.

A Smoyer 60-yard catch-and-run to Chris Frame led to Frame’s 3-yard tally, while another balanced drive of four runs and four passes ended with Mason Rothrock reaching the end zone from four yards out just 2:19 into the second frame.

“I think it keeps the defense on their heels,” said Newhard of mixing the ground game with throwing the ball. “Northern Lehigh is usually that traditional get behind center and run the ball a lot, and we still do, but we have that personnel this year and can spread the ball around and keep the defenses off balance.”

Catty’s defense continued to have trouble against the Bulldogs as another lengthy possession resulted in a fourth touchdown.

Passes to five different players during its 10-play trek down the field created problems for the Roughies secondary. Newhard went the final 13 yards to extend the margin to 28-0.Smoyer, who finished with 229 yards passing on 16-of-21 attempts, hit Colin Karetsky on a slant for a 41-yard TD, and Newhard ran the ball seven times during the team’s final scoring drive. The senior went four yards for his third tally of the game.

COSTLY WIN? … While Northern Lehigh did win to improve to 5-3, Frame — who had 103 receiving yards — left the game late in the first half with a lower body injury and had crutches with him on the sideline during the second half. “He’s one of my best friends and we’ve been through thick and thin together, and I’m praying for him, but we had to have that next man up mentality,” said Newhard.

UP NEXT … Tout’s club ends the regular season with two road games — at Salisbury on Friday and at Saucon Valley the following week.

No. Lehigh 42, Catty 12

Catasauqua 0 6 0 6 - 12

No. Lehigh 14 14 7 7 - 42

NL - Newhard 28 run (kick failed)

NL - Frame 3 run (Frame run)

NL - Rothrock 4 run (Newhard run)

NL - Newhard 13 run (run failed)

C - Dunn 6 run (kick failed)

NL - Karetsky 41 pass from Smoyer (Hanna kick)

NL - Newhard 4 run (Hanna kick)

C - Reilly 15 run (pass failed)