Bethlehem Catholic held a ceremony for six of their student-athletes last Thursday to celebrate National Signing Day, as five of the six athletes recognized last week were members of the football program.

Freddie Simmons (NC State), Dante Lonardo (Lafayette), Josh Heron (St. Francis), Mike Italiani (Kutztown) and Colby Faasuamalie (West Chester) all made things official from a football standpoint, while Katie Altpeter signed on with Lehigh to continue her track and field career.

The day was welcoming for Simmons, who decommitted from Rutgers back in November and found himself behind the eight ball after that with colleges, as many schools that had recruited him filled their need at the wide receiver position.

That put Simmons in a stressful spot, as he tried to find the right place to further his career.

"NC State came into play after [wide receivers] coach [George] McDonald expressed great interest in me and explained why he wanted to bring me in," said Simmons. "Coach really put his neck out on the line and he was willing to convince the other coaches on the staff to bring me in. I just respected the fact that he did that for me."

Lonardo, who was an outstanding defensive end for the Hawks, will continue his playing days with Lafayette. Lonardo knew he wanted to be apart of the Leopards program since last summer, as he's taken several unofficial visits with the school, but was finally happy to put pen to paper in last week's ceremony.

"I was looking at pretty much all the Patriot and Ivy League schools," said Lonardo of his options. "Staying close to home wasn't on the top of my list originally, but the more athletes I spoke with, it seemed to be a common trend that kids that went to school far away from home wished they could bridge the gap between college and family life. Lafayette affords me that opportunity and I'm more than happy."

Heron will go on to play defensive back for St. Francis.

"I always had faith that I could go on and play at the next level and picking St. Francis was really a last minute decision," Heron said. "At the end, St. Francis stuck with me when a couple other schools didn't work out."

Being able to celebrate the signings with several of his teammates also made last week's ceremony memorable to Heron.

"I mean we started out 1-9 and now look at us," he said. "It just shows you that hard work pays off.