It hasn’t always been pretty for Bethlehem Catholic this season, but the Hawks are getting the results they need at the right time.

Becahi controlled their second straight game of the District 11 4A tournament last week, stifling Lehighton throughout their semifinal matchup for a 35-14 victory last Thursday night.

The win puts the Hawks (6-6) back in the championship game this Thursday at 6:35 p.m. at Catasauqua against top-seeded Southern Lehigh (10-2), who needed a late touchdown in a 41-34 comeback win over Pottsville.

Jeziah Gregory scored three rushing scores in last week’s win and was complemented by rushing scores from Cayden Vassa and Justin Martinez, as the Hawks built a 21-0 halftime lead and never looked back.

“Our mantra for this team has just been ‘one more’,” said Becahi head coach Tyler Ward. “We’re just fighting for that one more practice or meeting and we get to come back and get ready for another game and win another championship.”

After limping into the postseason with a 4-6 mark and losing their last four games of the regular season, the Hawks have their mojo back with wins over East Stroudsburg North and Lehighton the past two weeks.

Ward

“I think we’re confident and we’ve had to change so much from an offensive standpoint and move some guys around the last two weeks,” said Ward. “All these guys have bought in and when you have guys that do their job and help us execute the way we did, we have a chance to beat anybody.”

This week’s test for the Hawks will be much tougher as they take on the Spartans, who came back from a 34-13 first half deficit to score the game’s final 28 points in a miraculous victory.

Sean Steckert stole the show for Southern Lehigh carrying the ball 36 times for 222 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught two touchdowns for 64 yards, giving him 286 yards of total offense on the night.

The Spartans pose the biggest challenge the Hawks will face during this postseason, but after battling through the EPC all year, Bethlehem Catholic is ready for any challenge in front of them. Ward is proud of the fact his team back in the final after a tough stretch to end the regular season and hopes they can repeat as champs after bringing home the district gold last year.

“I told this team two years ago when I first got here that we have a lot of gold on our jerseys and we want to be the gold standard,” said Ward. “If we can keep building and putting ourselves in good situations to have a chance to win big football games, that’s all we can ask for. We just want an opportunity and these kids want to come out and fight again and we’re excited for it.”