It's hard to say that Bethlehem Catholic's District 11 2A championship over the weekend was far from expected. It was a full-blown conclusion heading into the tournament that the Hawks would walk away with their fourth straight district title.

What changed the narrative was how it materialized.

Becahi defeated Saucon Valley 70-3 for the title Saturday evening, as Saucon marched out a JV lineup and forfeited four bouts to rest up for their "ultimate qualifier" bout against North Schuylkill.

The new format of the tournament had its share of pros and cons, but it did little to change the outcome for Becahi.

The Hawks advanced to the semifinals without wrestling a match following the forfeit heard around the world by Palisades. They trampled Northern Lehigh 68-3 in the semis and then had an easy time with the Panthers in the finals. That all amounted to a 222-6 scoring advantage for the Hawks in their three matches.

To say it was the weirdest district title run for head coach Jeff Karam, well, was pretty accurate.

"Yeah, this was weird," said Karam following the victory over Saucon. "With the way things started on Thursday night [Palisades forfeit], taking on Northern Lehigh, which gave us some good matches and then finishing up with Saucon, it was pretty strange."

That shouldn't be the case for the Hawks this weekend, as they look to continue their championship run with a potential fourth straight state championship.

Seniors Zeke Moisey, Jose Ortiz and Nick Cortopassi have had the joy to win four district titles throughout their tenure at Becahi and would love nothing more than to finish up their dual meet reign with another state championship.

"After freshman year, I told our guys that we were going to win four of these," said Moisey about the district titles. "It's an awesome feeling. It feels good to almost accomplish everything we've set out, but we still have another week to get one more team trophy."

For the likes of Moisey and Ortiz, following this path to the finals wasn't "weird" to them, as they understood the situations that unfolded, which came in play because of the reformatted district tournament.

"I mean, it's just the way things worked out," Ortiz said. "We came out with the best lineup we could and we can't really control what other teams do. We don't worry about that. I'm just happy to have this opportunity to go out and win four straight district titles. Now we want to go out and win a fourth straight state title."

The chances of another state title for Becahi this week appear to be promising, as teams like Reynolds, Fort LeBoeuf, Burrell and Boiling Springs will look to push Becahi.

But if you're looking to push the Hawks, that means you're likely behind them, so the 2A title runs through Bethlehem again as the Hawks open the tournament against District 1 champion Lower Moreland on Thursday.

"I'll tell you what, when we get out there I don't want to overlook anyone," said Karam of this week's prospects. "Boiling Springs is ranked second in the state behind us, but Reynolds always wrestles us tough. All these teams are really good and we need to be ready for that."

The Hawks will likely meet Fort LeBoeuf in the quarterfinals and if they advance will surely see Burrell, the District 7 champion,in the semifinals. All eyes appear to have the Hawks in the finals, going against either Reynolds or Boiling Springs.

For Karam and this senior class, coming home with another title would be icing on the cake for the journey of his three veteran wrestlers.

"For our seniors it would be really cool for them to accomplish that since they would know nothing except being district and state champions during their four years," Karam said. "Again, we've been fortunate to be on a good run. We want to savor it. We hear a lot of bickering out there about Bethlehem Catholic wrestling, but I'm a realist and understand that nothing lasts forever.

"I'm doing my best to enjoy it and let my kids relish what they've achieved."