Saturday saw Bethlehem Catholic host Nazareth in a midseason clash between two very different teams.

Becahi came into this game boasting a 3-1 record on the season and coming off two impressive wins against Liberty (45-16), and most recently, against Parkland (24-16). The Golden Hawks were coming into this game with a lot of confidence.

On the other side of the field, Nazareth was 1-3 entering this contest. The Blue Eagles had lost three-straight games: Emmaus (42-43) Allentown Central Catholic (13-23) and most recently to Freedom (49-28).

Both teams came out at the start of this game a little off. Neither team could combine enough plays together to make any meaningful drives in the first quarter. The defenses of both teams stood strong and it was 0-0, until Nazareth’s running back Kyle Paccio capped off an impressive drive for a rushing touchdown.

Becahi would answer back on the next drive to even the score at 7-7. Hawk quarterback, Zamar Brake scored the first of his three rushing touchdown on the night. This was the only moment of real joy for the Hawks in the first half, because the Eagles would go on to score 21 unanswered points to go into the locker room with a 24-7 lead.

Nazareth quarterback, Nathan Stefanik, rushed and threw for a touchdown on route to this lead.

Becahi came out of the locker room the more inspired team in the second half. Brake and the Hawks clawed their way back to score two touchdowns in the third quarter and cut the deficit to only three points.

The comeback wasn’t meant to happen for the Hawks on this night though. With about 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Nazareth crucially intercepted a pass thrown by Brake that stopped a promising drive by the Hawks. Turnovers and penalties ultimately were the downfall for the Hawks as they finished the game with 10 penalties resulting in 115 total yards from penalties.

No penalty was more influential than the punt return for a touchdown called back. Late in the fourth quarter the Hawks looked to have taken the lead through an unbelievable punt return touchdown, only have it taken away by a penalty on the return. Nazareth’s defense hung tough and inflicted some salt in the wound with a late touchdown to finish the game 31-21 in favor of the Eagles.

This game was rather disappointing for Hawks.

Head coach for the golden hawks, Joe Henrich, was almost at a loss for words after the game.

“This a moot point for us. After winning two weeks in a row against tough teams and then this,” Henrich said. “It’s tough. I’m at a loss for words on what to say about this game.”

Upcoming for the Hawks is a game against Whitehall (1-4), another that perhaps favors the Hawks on paper, as they try to bounce back from this tough loss.