It is a new era of Bethlehem Catholic football and don’t expect a drop off with Kyle Haas running the show.

After leading Northampton’s program the last three seasons and being Becahi’s head coach in 2016, Haas is back at the helm of where he always wanted to be.

“I think we have an opportunity to be very competitive this season,” said Haas, who was 19-10 in three years at Northampton. “The kids have worked extremely hard in the weight room and are much stronger. We feel we have depth at key positions which will create competition. Our success will be determined by how quickly we develop chemistry and grasp the offensive and defensive schemes.”

After finishing 4-4 last season, the Hawks know that finishing with a .500 mark isn’t part of their pedigree. With a massive offensive line coming back anchored by North Carolina recruit Justin Kanyuk and three-year starting quarterback Jared Richardson, Becahi has experience and talent at key positions across the board.

Returning for the Hawks as starters are Sr. QB/P Jared Richardson, Sr. OL Justin Kanyuk, Sr. OL/DL Aydan Kirby, Sr. RB/LB Max Johnson, Sr. WR/DB Jacob Stoudt, Sr. DL Stephen Hattala, Sr. FB/LB Ethan Shelton, Sr. K Anthony Barczynski, Jr. WR/DB Eric Wert, Jr. WR/RB/DB Rahmel Terry, Jr. DL Mark Mulhern, Jr. DB Luke Thomas.

Other experienced players include Sr. WR/DB Jho Soto, Sr. WR/DB Luis Cordero, Sr. FB/LB Tyriek Rivera, Sr. OL/DL Josh Rivera, Sr. DL/LB Nick Roof, Sr. RB/LB Kyle Melson, Jr. WR/DB Jamel Clements, Jr. WR/DB Jaiden Ellis-Lahey, Jr. OL/DL Eli Thompson, Jr. OL/DL Mehki George, Jr. RB/LB Zyaire Morris.

Newcomers that figure to make an impact are Jr. FB/LB Izzy Ramos-Dobbins, Sr. WR/DB David Awuah, Jr. OL/DL Nicco Spezza, Jr. WR/DB Troy Miller, Jr. WR/DB Will Aviles, Jr. LB Siddiq Small, So. OL/DL Sam Ayache, So. RB/DB Riley Guiffre, So. OL/DL Jacob Lance, So. QB Auggie Warke, So. QB/DB JD Awuah.

Offensively, Haas knows there’s a lot of potential with the weapons at his disposal.

“I feel like we have enough weapons to be balanced,” Haas said. “We expect Jared to have a great season coming off his injury a year ago. We have a stable of running backs we feel confident in. We are deep at receiver, but our offensive line will ultimately be the deciding factor of how far we go. They are big and strong, but they just need some game experience.”

On the defensive side of the ball is where it may take some time for the unit to gel, but there’s enough pieces to make things work.

“We have some experience coming back with eight guys coming back that were starters last season,” said Haas. “Picking up the new system will be important for all the guys, but we have depth at every position. We really like our linebacking group. If we can take care of the mental part, we have a lot of pieces to be pretty good.”