After an entire off season of uncertainty, Bethlehem Catholic’s football program finally has a real football game in front of them this Friday night when they travel to Whitehall for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

After six weeks of practice, a canceled scrimmage with Saucon Valley last week because of a COVID case on the Panthers squad, head coach Joe Henrich and his players are more than happy to finally get ready for an opponent in a real game.

“It feels good to finally get ready to play somebody,” said Henrich. “We found out our scrimmage was Saucon was canceled as we were getting on the bus, so that was deflating for the kids, but this is our new reality. This is something we take day-by-day and you just don’t know what’s going to happen.”

That’s why Becahi is cherishing every day they get to practice and potentially play, as none of their six games on their schedule are guaranteed should a COVID case pop up on any team’s roster.

Prior to kickoff on Friday, all players get temperature checked and go through a screening process. Home teams dictate how many and if any fans are allowed, but don’t expect visiting fans having access to contests on the road.

Without having any live action with an opponent heading into Friday’s game, the Hawks are behind the eight ball compared to the Zephyrs, who lost to Central Catholic 34-13 in the first contest between East Penn Conference opponents this season. With a week of game action and film in their pockets, Whitehall, who finished last season 0-10, may have a leg up on the Hawks in that respect, but Henrich isn’t over thinking it.

“You always see a lot of growth from your first game to your second game,” said Henrich. “You’re never sure how guys are going to react to playing under the lights, so in that respect it’s the same as every year. You want to see how your young guys come out and play and how your team executes. I’m sure Whitehall feels better knowing what to expect from themselves.”

The Zephyrs (0-1) only trailed Central Catholic (1-0) by a 13-6 margin at halftime, until the Vikings racked up 21 straight points in the second half to pull away. Central ran the ball for 288 yards, led by Jayden Williams’ 207-yard, two touchdown performance.

“Whitehall is always a scrappy and physical team,” said Henrich, “and we saw that in the first half of last week’s game. They’re relying on a lot of young players, just like we will be, so it’ll be interesting to see how things play out. We just need to minimize mistakes and find our rhythm in the game.”