When Saturday night rolls around, it’s fair to say that Bethlehem Catholic and Liberty players will be more than ready to hit each other for their season opening contest at Frank Banko Field.

With Freedom playing a home game in the stadium Friday night, the Bethlehem super-clash has to wait one more day, which should only add to the anticipation for both teams.

After last year’s 56-27 victory by Becahi, Liberty head coach John Truby and the rest of the returning Hurricanes are anxious for an opportunity to make up for last year’s defeat when things kickoff at 7 p.m.

“This group of seniors have never beaten Beca in a varsity game,” Truby said. “Our guys don’t need any extra motivation when you play a game like this. We just want to limit the big plays because that’s what really hurt us a year ago.”

The Golden Hawks exploded with 28-points in last year’s second quarter to take a 35-14 lead into halftime. Two special teams returns for touchdowns by Becahi turned the game on its head last year and Liberty was never able to recover fully.

When analyzing the Hawks this season, Truby thinks they may be even more dangerous than a year ago.

“They’ve looked very good in both of their scrimmages so far,” said Truby. “Antwon Keenan has really been impressive. They’re very quick to the ball on defense too. They’re a very good team.”

Keenan will be the lead horse in Becahi’s backfield this year at running back and will look to have a big day after getting injured in last year’s contest against Liberty, which derailed his junior year.

Hawks’ head coach Joe Henrich knows that he has talent all over the field at his skill positions, but also understands that he features new faces in the trenches.

Becahi will start three juniors, a sophomore and returning senior center Anthony Davis along the offensive line, while the defensive line boasts new players across the board as well.

With the trenches being the most vital aspect in football, Henrich knows there will be some growing pains along the way, which could be an area where Liberty has success on Saturday night.

“All of our guys on the line have great ability,” said Henrich. “They just don’t have that much experience. When you have young kids, there’s going to be some ups and downs.”

Henrich noted that Liberty’s offense has changed this season based on the film they’ve seen, where their offense looks similar to how Becahi likes to operate. With Liberty also having a new defensive coordinator running things, he expects different looks in that department as well.

At the end of the day, with Julian Spigner running the offense for Hawks and Doug Erney leading the Hurricanes, both quarterbacks have the ability to provide some fireworks this weekend.

“I don’t think much needs to be said to prepare our guys for this game,” said Henrich. “We just need to do the things that will help us win. You can’t let the emotion of the game get to you.”

Truby feels the same way and expects a high scoring game.

“Both teams will put on a show for Bethlehem,” he said.