It looked like it homecoming was going to script for Bethlehem Catholic on Saturday afternoon, but things suddenly turned dicey in the second half before the Golden Hawks eventually held off East Stroudsburg South for a 41-28 victory.

Becahi led 35-0 at halftime to kick in the mercy rule, but the Cavs weren’t interested in feeling sorry for themselves, scoring on three big plays in the third quarter to make things interesting before eventually running out of gas.

Head coach Joe Henrich laid some of the blame on himself for Saturday’s second half, as the win helped push Becahi to 5-2 on the year with a daunting three game stretch to close out the season now on deck.

“I was really pleased with how the first half went,” said Henrich, “but I think we got a little comfortable in the second half and we got caught up in everything going on in the game. I didn’t do a good enough job reemphasizing certain things and we allowed the game to get more interesting than it should have been.”

The Hawks started fast with a 55-yard TD run by Tavion Banks to open the scoring, as Banks and fellow backfield mate, Zaheer Seabrooks, each toppled the 100-yard mark on the day, as Banks ran for 101 yards on six carries, while Seabrooks added 137 yards and two first half scores on 21 carries to help build Becahi’s cushion through the opening 24 minutes.

But the Cavs (4-3) slowly grinded their way back into the game, getting their first points off a 65-yard TD run by Ron Blake to open the second half. Quarterback Brayden Mitchell then found Christian Sapp on a 63-yard TD score and the momentum took an accelerator when Gerrond Tang Hap picked off Hawks’ QB Zamar Brake for a 78-yard pick six to make it 35-21.

Paul Carreras scored from four yards out in the fourth quarter to put the Hawks back up by three scores before Mitchell and Sapp hooked up on a 10-yard TD to finish off the game.

Finishing the game is something that has been an issue for the Hawks this season, as they’ve been inconsistent in their ability to play four solid quarters.

With a trip to Easton’s Cottingham Stadium this Friday night to take on a Rover (5-2) team that was whooped by Freedom in a 35-7 mercy rule defeat last week, Henrich knows that he’ll get a feisty Easton team showing up on their home turf.

“I think everyone was surprised by that score, but we know that Easton is going to be a tough game,” Henrich said. “They’re going to get after you. It’s a different environment down in Easton and our kids need to be ready.”

With Easton on tap this week, the Hawks close out the season with Emmaus (7-0) the following week before their annual Holy War showdown with Central Catholic (3-4) in the regular season finale.

Being able to play their best ball in this final stretch will be crucial for the Hawks heading into the postseason and Henrich knows that this could be a string of games that can be a defining moment for the group.

“I just want to see us play well because I think we’re on the right track,” he said. “We need to forge our own identity now. We just got to keep getting better over these next couple weeks because this could be a defining part of the year for us.”