Bethlehem Catholic quickly discovered that the second time around wasn’t going to be the charm.

The Golden Hawks, who lost to Allentown Central Catholic 35-3 a few weeks ago, couldn’t return the favor against them in a 38-17 defeat in a District 11 Class 4A semifinal game last Friday night at J. Birney Crum Stadium.

Becahi was coming off an impressive 17-0 shutout of Blue Mountain last week in a district quarterfinal.

This time, Central Catholic broke the game open with a 53-yard punt return and an eight-yard fumble recovery for scores after they held a 21-3 advantage with Becahi still within striking distance.

Central Catholic was again paced by running back Jayden Williams ran for 170 yards and scored three touchdowns, and quarterback Matt Rauscher was a perfect 7-for-7 passing with 52 yards and ran for 47.

The defeat ended the Golden Hawks season with a 4-4 mark, while Central Catholic will meet Northwestern in the District 11 Class 4A final Thursday evening at Whitehall High School.

“Those hurt us,” said Becahi head coach Joe Heinrich. “We knew we would have trouble with Williams and Rauscher.

“We battled throughout and we had a good effort during the season.”

Rafi Harrington led Becahi with 66 yards rushing, and quarterback Luke Thomas threw for 32 yards. Harrington scored on a 58-yard run,

Thomas, a sophomore who replaced injured starter Jared Richardson and also started at safety all season, will be back next season. Richardson, a junior also will be back in the fold. Thomas had the Golden Hawks’ other touchdown, a six-yard run. Anthony Barczynski accounted for their other points on a 30-yard field goal.

Harrington and Rahmel Terry will be back in the backfield for the Golden Hawks.

The Golden Hawks had a roller coaster season, beginning with a 42-7 win over Bangor and then suffered a 21-0 loss to Nazareth. They bounced back to defeat Liberty, 42-17, and blanked Easton, 7-0.

They were blitzed 45-0 by Freedom before their final meeting with Central Catholic and Blue Mountain.