CATASAUQUA — What a difference a year makes.

Northern Lehigh proved yet again in a special Thursday night Colonial League battle with Catasauqua that its 0-10 season in 2017 is a distant memory. The Bulldogs went old school on the Rough Riders, punishing them by pounding the football and controlling the line of scrimmage. Northern Lehigh’s physical performance helped it come away with its second consecutive win as it defeated Catasauqua, 48-0.

From the onset, the Bulldogs (2-0) didn’t waste any time setting the tone. After a Catasauqua fumble on its opening drive, Northern Lehigh took over at its own 12 and went 88 yards in 10 plays, finishing off the drive with its only completion of the game on a 17-yard hookup between quarterback Gage Hunsicker and tight end Damion Rodriguez.

But it was the way the Bulldogs got down to the 17 that was impressive, gutting the middle of the Rough Riders defense with eight carries for 71 yards, with no sign that Catasauqua could defend what Northern Lehigh was executing.

“We liked the double tight stuff we ran last week, we were successful in that look. We also saw on tape the success Bangor had against Catasauqua last week and that we could get some good looks again from double tight, so we stuck with that,” said Bulldogs head coach Joe Tout. “We feel pretty good about what we’ve done so far. We have a stable of running backs that we really like and have played well this season – kids did a great job and it all started up front.”

In the second quarter, Northern Lehigh continued to attack the Catasauqua defense, scoring two more touchdowns to take a 21-0 lead into intermission. The Bulldogs rushed for 148 yards in the second quarter with feature running back Justin Paul, eating up much of those yards. Paul dominated on the night, rushing for just over 140 yards in the first half, finishing with 195 yards on just 14 carries and two scores in the game.

Paul then electrified the Bulldogs offense on their first play of the third quarter, rumbling 61 yards to extend their lead to 28-0 at the 11:17 mark.

“I obviously couldn’t have had the success I did tonight without the play of our offensive line. And it wasn’t just me, all of our backs ran the ball well and ran the ball hard,” said Paul. “We’re playing good football right now, the locker room atmosphere is great, and there’s no doubt we have confidence, but we can’t let it get to our heads. We need to stay focused and prepare for every other game like we have the last two weeks.”

The Bulldogs put the game away in the third, scoring 14 more points after Paul’s big rush to give them a 42-point lead, heading into the fourth. After a third lost fumble on the night for the Rough Riders gave Northern Lehigh good field position late in the fourth, the Bulldogs added another score to give them a 48-0 win.

SCORING SPREE … Besides Paul’s two scores and Rodriguez’s touchdown reception, there was a host of Bulldogs that got into the end zone as well. Aaron Rudolph scored two short-yardage touchdowns, with Joe Abidelli and Mat Frame each collecting a score apiece.

STANDING FIRM … Early on the Bulldogs defense showed it could handle adversity. Twice in the first quarter Catasauqua was inside the Bulldogs 10-yard line, but twice the Rough Riders were turned away. A fumbled pitch and a turnover on downs were the result of the resiliency from Northern Lehigh’s “D.”

TUNROVER TOWN … Catasauqua fumbled the ball five times on the night, losing three.