There were good vibes for both Liberty and Bethlehem Catholic following last weekend’s football contests, despite both teams achieving different results.

Liberty (1-2) picked up their first win of the season following a 14-12 victory on the road against Stroudsburg, while Bethlehem Catholic (2-1) suffered their first loss in a 21-6 defeat at Nazareth.

It was a moment of relief for the Hurricanes to avoid going 0-3 and a moment affirmation for the Hawks for pushing the top-ranked team in the area into the depths of the fourth quarter before Sonny Sasso took home a 65-yard interception to seal the game.

Now, both teams square off Friday night in the first city rivalry of the season.

“I think in games like this, there’s always more emotion for the kids once Friday comes around,” said Liberty head coach Shawn Daignault, “but our preparation will stay the same throughout the week. We just need to stay focused and disciplined. That’s what we’ve been preaching.”

After losing their opening contests of the season to Central Catholic and Whitehall, Liberty held on to their 14-0 first quarter lead last week to squeak out the win.

“I think my wife told me that I looked more relieved than happy after the game,” Daignault said. “I’m happy we took a step in the right direction, but we know we’re going to have our hands full with a talented Beca team.”

The Hawks hung tough with Nazareth thanks to a stellar defensive effort throughout the night that held the Blue Eagles to 234-yards of offense.

Becahi went into halftime trailing 7-6 when Luke Thomas threw a 19-yard touchdown to Eric Wert late in the second quarter. The extra point attempt failed.

Nazareth got a big play in the third quarter when Nolan Lobb got behind the Becahi defense on a Sasso bomb, connecting on a 41-yard score to make it 14-6.

The Hawks then had their chance in the fourth quarter, taking over with 7:09 left in the game at their own 21.

Three minutes later they faced a 4th and 5 at the Nazareth 35-yard line when Sasso jumped a route and took it to the house.

“We were running the same route and getting them all game and I think we went to the well one too many times with it,” said Becahi head coach Kyle Haas. “Offensively, we’re still trying to find our feet a little bit, but our kids played hard and that’s what you expect when you play in the EPC South.

“From my perspective I’m proud of the way we fought and we just need to figure out a way to get better.”

Both teams are hoping they can improve this weekend and a win would certainly go a long way.

“It would be nice for us to say we have more wins through four weeks than we did a year ago,” Daignault said. “I feel like we can compete with anyone in the league if we play the right way. We need to get better everyday and with our schedule, it’s something that we really try to harp on.”

A win for Becahi would be a huge get, considering their final six-game stretch of the season includes contests against Emmaus, Northampton, Easton, Parkland, Freedom and Central.

“It was a good effort [against Nazareth] but we need to get better to play the other teams in the league,” Haas said. “I want to see where we are in week five or week six. When you play good defense it’s going to keep you in a lot of games, but we just need to continue to get better.”