Things did not go great for Bethlehem Catholic last Friday night in Nazareth. As the fourth quarter slowly came to an end, Becahi’s lead drummer from the band performed a solo act in the stands, which was the most entertainment fans got in the final stanza. A week after pummeling Parkland, Becahi fell flat in a 27-13 defeat to the undefeated Blue Eagles (5-0).

It was a loss that left head coach Joe Henrich visibly frustrated on a night where the offense was held to 90 yards rushing and the defense finally broke down late in the second half.

“The whole thing was disappointing,” Henrich said. “I don’t know where we were. We had some opportunities early, but we just played like a disaster. Nazareth was hungrier, faster, they got off blocks better than us, they tackled better than us. As good as we played against Parkland, this was the polar opposite.”

After the Hawks (3-2) took the lead in the first quarter following a two-yard TD run by Malik Thomas, Nazareth came back with 27 unanswered points.

The Blue Eagles led 14-6 at halftime, but saw their offense sputter on many drives throughout the night, thanks in part to the Hawks defense that picked off quarterback Anthony Harris twice inside Becahi territory.

Becahi’s defense is what kept them in the game for so long, until things finally broke loose in the fourth quarter, when Harris rushed for an 11-yard score with 9:28, followed by a two-yard Tyler Rohn rushing TD less than two minutes later to ice the game.

Harris finished the night with 188 yards through the air and 101 yards on the ground and two scores. It wasn’t his best night, but he still caused plenty of problems for Becahi with his ability to extend plays and break tackles.

Becahi quarterback Jared Richardson couldn’t get much going through the air, finishing the night 10-of-22 for 157 yards and two interceptions.

With a winless Whitehall (0-5) squad coming to town Saturday night at BASD, Henrich hopes it’ll be an opportunity at redemption for his squad.

“I can’t be more disappointed in the way we played, but the one thing I know is we will be ready to go this week,” said Henrich. “I know we have a good team. I know we’ll be better and I have absolute confidence in these kids that they’ll bounce back.”

Freedom (4-1) bounced back from their defeat to Nazareth the week before with a 49-26 win against Whitehall last week.

The Pates jumped out to a convincing 35-0 lead at halftime to invoke the mercy rule. They might be in a similar situation this week when they host Pocono Mountain West (1-4) Friday night at BASD Stadium.