It will be the first battle of Bethlehem this season Saturday night at 7 p.m. when Bethlehem Catholic hosts Liberty at BASD Stadium.

The Hawks are riding high coming in with a 3-0 mark on the season following last week’s 42-6 victory over Pocono Mountain East, but head coach Tyler Ward knows the meat of the schedule begins this week with the Hurricanes (2-1).

“Every team left on the schedule is a really good football team,” said Ward. “You have to show up every week because our schedule is tough the rest of the way. They’re [Liberty] kind of like us with a bunch of young talented players and some senior guys that are the glue. I’m sure they’re hungry to get back in the win column and it’s our job to prevent that.”

Becahi’s win over a winless Cardinals team wasn’t a surprise, but Ward was happy to see his players not be satisfied with their mercy-rule effort.

“Our kids came away from our last game and they seemed angry afterward because they realized they didn’t play to our standard,” he said. “That made me smile seeing that in the locker room.”

Liberty is coming off a 42-14 loss to Parkland last week, but the Hurricanes battled throughout, which was something head coach Shawn Daignault was happy to see, considering the circumstances of falling behind 35-7 at halftime.

“We challenged the guys at halftime to see them continue to compete and they did,” said Daignault. “We told them we’re going to discover a lot about ourselves in that second half. We were physical, got turnovers, had fewer mistakes and I’m really proud of how they finished.”

Now it’s about how both teams finish this weekend, in what might be the most even matchup for both programs this season to date.

“I think a huge goal for us is to try to be the best team in Bethlehem,” said Ward. “Those two city games are always going to be circled on our schedule. It’s a rivalry and we all want bragging rights.”

It’s also the start of the brutal stretch runs that all EPC South teams face down the stretch and Daignault was happy to have his group face the area’s top team in Parkland last week to expedite their learning curve.

“We needed a game like this,” he said. “That’s why I was slower on subbing some of our guys in the second half, because I wanted them to experience as many reps against a team like Parkland as possible. We’re about to continue a schedule that doesn’t let up. The value of playing against a team like Parkland is invaluable. We just need to continue to grow.”