If there was one thing to take away from last Friday's Bethlehem brawl between Liberty and Bethlehem Catholic, it's to not kick the football to Becahi's Freddie Simmons.

The Golden Hawks star senior broke the game open and made Liberty pay dearly, as he turned a tied game at 14-14 in the second quarter into a frenzy, as Becahi scored 28 points in the second quarter en route to a 56-27 victory.

Simmons, a Division-I recruit, added more footage to his highlight reels, as he returned a kickoff 65-yards, a punt 64-yards and hauled in a 72-yard touchdown reception for an opening night trounce over Liberty.

After getting ejected from last year's season opener against the Hurricanes, Simmons felt his senior contest against crosstown rival Liberty was important to make a statement.

"I just wanted to show everybody that I can keep my cool and play for my teammates," said Simmons. "Last year, I embarrassed my team, coaches and family, so I just wanted to play as hard as I could and keep the focus off me."

Keeping the focus off Simmons will be a task in itself the rest of the season, as two special teams miscues by Liberty (0-1) led to their downfall after 'Canes quarterback Doug Erney hit Elijah Hall for a 33-yard touchdown pass with 8:35 left in the second quarter.

A 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty on Liberty following the touchdown pushed the ensuing kickoff deeper, which opened the door for Simmons, as he picked it up the down middle of the hashmarks and raced 65-yards untouched for the go-ahead score less than 10 seconds after Liberty tied it up.

The air came out of the balloon for Liberty less than three minutes later after their drive stalled and were forced to punt. Simmons scooped up the punt and spun his way around Liberty defenders for a 64-yard punt return to open the game to 28-14. Hawks' quarterback Julian Spigner then found running back Michael McDaniel for a 27-yard TD with 43 seconds left in the half to give Becahi a resounding 35-14 advantage.

"Well, Simmons is a really good player and three plays really separated us," said Liberty head coach John Truby. "They made the plays and we didn't. Simmons is definitely a D-I player and overall it was just their [Becahi] night. I think when you have a guy like that, you have to swallow your pride as a team and not kick to him."

McDaniel led the Hawks (1-0) with three touchdowns from an offensive perspective, rushing for two scores to go along with his TD through the air. He totaled 86 yards on the ground on 10 carries.

Spigner was 13-of-21 for 182 yards and two touchdowns, along with a nine-yard rushing score in the third quarter.

Erney led Liberty's offensive attack, as he was 12-of-29 for 177 yards and a score. He also led the team in rushing with 54 yards and three touchdowns to give the Hurricanes something positive to take away from last week's loss.

With Allen on the horizon this week, Liberty should get on track in the win department.

The Hawks, meanwhile, will stay on their quest to rummage the North Division of the East Penn Conference, when they host Pleasant Valley Saturday night.