The pent up frustration that Bethlehem Catholic harbored for the past three weeks finally came out last Friday night.

After three straight losses, the Golden Hawks exhaled in their regular season finale with a 24-21 win over Northampton.

The win puts the Hawks at 6-4 on the season and clinched the second seed in the District 11 4A playoffs, but more importantly, it gave the Hawks confidence and momentum heading into the postseason.

It was evident by the jubilation from players and coaches what the weight of three straight defeats can do to a team, but the victory over Northampton was exactly what the doctor ordered to remedy the situation.

“We’ve been banged up and haven’t been healthy and taking some hits the past three weeks with losses,” said Beca head coach Joe Bernard. “This was important for us to go into the playoffs with some momentum. Northampton’s a physical 6A football team and for us to go 6-4 with our schedule says a lot about our football team.”

Bethlehem Catholic jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first half thanks to a 45-yard touchdown run by Rodney Brodie and a 23-yard score from Axel Burkart to open the scoring. Aaron Geiger’s 17-yard field goal extended the Beca cushion before the Kids scored a touchdown just before half to grab some momentum.

Northampton made things uncomfortable when Zander Rickert scored from five yards out to pull within 17-14 following a two-point conversion.

The Hawks answered with a six-rushing score by Burkart to extend the lead to 24-14 in the third quarter and that’s where things stood until late in the fourth when Joey High brought in a 12-yard TD reception with just over two minutes left before Beca killed the clock.

Now the Hawks set their sights on a Thursday showdown with Pottsville in the District 11 4A quarterfinals.

The Crimson Tide come in with a 3-7 mark and shouldn’t be a threat to the Hawks, but what Bernard wants to see is his team keep getting healthier and keep building momentum.

“We’re getting close to being back to full strength,” he said. “We had some kids that could have played against Northampton, but we held them out. That’s why this win was so big for us. You can sugar coat things all you want, but if you go into the playoffs with four straight losses, the kids would not feel as good as they do now.”