Bethlehem Catholic hopes the third time could be the charm in a meeting against Nazareth.

The Hawks also hope they can make it that far in this weekend’s PIAA 3A team wrestling championships to a possible third outing with the Blue Eagles.

First, though Becahi (11-2) had to take care of business in Monday’s opening round of the state tournament by dispatching District 3 fourth-place finisher Chambersburg 40-21.

“We knew this was going to be a good match tonight,” said Karam about Chambersburg. “They’re a very solid team that matches up well with us. We were hoping to get through and get out to Hershey to try and defend the state title.”

It came a day after they were humbled again by Nazareth (17-1) this season, dropping the District 11 3A championship match by a 31-16 margin.

It was a result that had similar route as their EPC final defeat, as the bout started in the middle weights, only to see Nazareth run get momentum and build a sizable lead.

Cole Handlovic (152) earned an 18-8 major decision over Jake Dressler to open the match on Saturday, but that was the last taste of success that Becahi would taste for awhile. Nazareth would roll off seven straight wins en route to building a 25-4 after Charlie Bunting topped Cael McIntyre 4-3 at 106.

Becahi won four out of the last six bouts of the match, but saw Kenny Herrmann (138) fall to Dashawn Farber 11-8 in the night’s biggest upset. Herrmann is considered the top wrestler in the area at 138 and possibly in the state.

It only added to an already tough night for the Hawks.

“Hopefully we can make some adjustments if we are fortunate enough to wrestle Nazareth again,” said head coach Jeff Karam. “We really need to have everyone in the lineup. Missing Matt Lackman and Tyler Kasak really hurt us this past week.

“I really feel we haven’t had our best line up yet.”

Monday’s win over Chambersburg saw the Hawks win six of the first seven bouts and they never looked back.

Becahi now opens the state tourney on Thursday against District 4 champion Williamsport at 8 p.m. at the Giant Center in Hershey.

Quarterfinals are set for 2 p.m. Friday with semifinals slated for 8 p.m. Friday night. The championship final is 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon with everyone fully expecting Becahi and Nazareth to get after it for a third straight week.

Liberty made a run to district semifinals last weekend, falling to Nazareth 60-6 in the process. The Hurricanes then fell to Northampton 56-18 in the consolation round. Freedom was bounced in the quarterfinals by Becahi 55-9.