The Bethlehem Catholic train kept rolling last Saturday night, as the Golden Hawks continued their impressive run through the 2023 season with a 48-16 mercy-rule victory over city rival Liberty.

It may have been the most impressive win of the first half of the season for the Hawks, who remain undefeated at 4-0 as they host Easton (2-2) this Saturday at BASD Stadium.

Becahi took control of last week’s game from the start, jumping out to a 34-3 halftime lead in a contest many expected to be closer than the final score.

With all the negative talk surrounding the state of the program in the offseason, the Hawks have quieted the doubters.

“We have developed a very big chip on our shoulders,” said head coach Tyler Ward. “The boys feel they were not given much chance of success going into the season. They came together and bought in all offseason and decided they would make a point of proving everyone wrong. That has slowly built confidence as some of the success has shown up.”

That confidence translated to big plays last week, as the Hawks didn’t need long drives to mow down Liberty.

Mekhi Lapierre got things going with a 37-yard touchdown run to open the scoring, followed by Jacob Sutton’s 36-yard score in the opening frame.

Quarterback Cayden Vassa then blew the game open in the second with three touchdowns, rushing from 56-yards on one and then throwing a 53-yard touchdown to his younger brother Carter along with a 13-yard score to Bryce Medina.

Vassa finished with 94 yards through the air and two scores to go along with 91 yards rushing and a TD.

Sutton ran for 106 yards and two touchdowns, while Carter Vassa continues his efficient receiving, hauling in three catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns.

“We just play so hard every game,” Ward said. “The kids have done everything I have asked of them. To be a group that heard so much negativity all offseason, I have been impressed with our team’s ability to just focus on ourselves and block out all the outside noise. They have earned all of this success through hard work all offseason and I could not be more proud of them.

On the flip side, Liberty (2-2) has now lost two straight games by mercy-rule and head coach Shawn Daignault is just hoping his team right the ship before this week’s showdown with a talented Nazareth (3-1) team coming to town Friday night.

“Obviously, no one is very happy after two lopsided losses,” Daignault said. “I won’t try to sugar coat that. However, I also believe that we are as committed as ever to daily growth and improvement. We need to do a better job of putting our young players in positions where they can be successful. This probably means simplifying what we are asking of them. We are very inexperienced and we as coaches need to remain cognizant of that and vigilant in our daily approach. Hopefully, our frustrations can be channeled in focus.”

Liberty only managed 189 yards of total offense, as star rusher Gabe Green was held to 35 yards on the ground. Tre Parham threw for 140 yards and a score. Jake Pukszyn caught 10 balls for 73 yards and a touchdown.

Now the Hawks look to finish the first half of the season undefeated and hope the win over Liberty adds another level to that chip on their shoulder.

“The games against Liberty and Freedom mean a ton to me, as one of our goals is to win the city title every year,” said Ward. “I loved seeing how excited our kids were to play in a big rivalry game.”