The Golden Hawks are one step closer and one game away from a District XI championship after winning their Class 4A semifinal against Blue Mountain, 41-16, this past Saturday afternoon at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium.

“We got ourselves so mentally prepared and so mentally focused before this game because we knew what it was,” said Bethlehem Catholic quarterback Luke Thomas. “It’s either get a medal or go home, and all the seniors want a medal, and we’ve all got chips on our shoulders, and we all want this as bad as ever.”

The Hawks scored their first touchdown within the first three minutes of play on Thomas’s 23-yard pass to Eric Wert in the end zone

Becahi’s defense kept Blue Mountain around its own 10-yard line for four downs, setting up good field position for the Hawks’ next drive that ended in Jaiden Ellis-Lahey’s one-handed catch for another touchdown.

Thomas ran for a 14-yard touchdown to open the second quarter, putting the Hawks ahead, 21-0, that included three PATs by Jeremy Fyrer.

Minutes later, Blue Mountain quarterback Tyler Miller threw to Carson Kerstetter for 38 yards and a first-and-goal from Becahi’s 10-yard line, but Miller’s subsequent pass to the end zone was intercepted by Dwayne Kelly.

The Eagles returned the favor, however, when a pass by Thomas was intercepted by Derek Walasavage at the Blue Mountain 45-yard line.

“We knew they were really scrappy, but we thought we had some speed in our skill position areas, and we were able to do a good job,” said Becahi coach Chuck Sonon. “We’ve just got to keep executing and taking care of ourselves. That’s the key.”

Within the last minute of the second quarter, the Hawks scored two more touchdowns, one on Thomas’s 29-yard pass to Wert and another on the Becahi quarterback’s 20-yard pass to Ellis-Lahey after the Eagles lost the ball on kickoff, but the Hawks fell one point shy of forcing the mercy rule on the Eagles to start the third quarter, 34-0.

Becahi wide receiver Jacob Sutton scored the Hawks’ last touchdown midway through the third, and the Hawks used their reserves for the rest of the game.

“They weren’t a bad team. We played really well, and all respect goes out to them, and we just continue to the next week and go get that chip,” said Thomas. “There’s a lot of things that go into it, from studying film, to getting your mind right, to eating the right things, to getting good sleep. All that goes into it. It’s having a good mindset about what’s going to happen and envisioning yourself in the game, doing good, making plays, and that’s basically what it takes.”

The Eagles scored twice in the fourth quarter, the first on a pass from Miller to Tyler Stahley, and the second on Miller’s pass to Gaige Guers, and were successful on both two-point conversions

The Hawks will take on Allentown Central Catholic for a 4A district championship this weekend.

“We need to limit our mistakes and try and play clean football, which we know is humanly impossible,” Coach Sonon said, “but the more we can do that, the better off we are.”