Becahi rolls over Tide
Tavion Banks ran for 139 yards and two TDs on 14 first-half carries.
Pottsville won its District 11 Class 4A football quarterfinal on the strength of its defense.
That unit provided little resistance for Bethlehem Catholic's ground game Saturday.
The Golden Hawks averaged 10 yards per carry while building a 40-point lead by halftime at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. Four Crimson Tide touchdowns in the second half made the game look closer than it was, with Bethlehem Catholic collecting a 40-28 win in a District 11 4A semifinal.
Top-seeded Bethlehem Catholic (9-3 overall) scored on five of its first six possessions before halftime. Domenico Italiani added a 35-yard interception return for a score when he sniffed out a screen and picked off a pass by Pottsville quarterback Aiden Stanton.
Bethlehem Catholic's third
straight mercy-rule win — it beat Central Catholic 59-14 to end the regular season and Blue Mountain 45-13 in the district quarterfinals — placed it in a district final for the fifth time in six years.
“That’s it. That’s one of our major goals, and we’ve got an opportunity,” Bethlehem Catholic coach Joe Henrich said. “So, we’re really excited about that.”
Tavion Banks ran for 139 yards and two touchdowns on 14 first-half carries. He carried six straight times for 58 yards on Bethlehem Catholic’s gameopening possession, capping the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run.
That set the tone for the afternoon. Bethlehem Catholic amassed 251 of its 299 rushing yards over the first two quarters.
Banks finished with 16 carries for a game-high 151 yards. Paul Carreras had a 70-yard touchdown run and carried four times for 94 yards. Zaheer Seabrooks added nine carries for 62 yards.
“Our team just connected and came together toward the end of the season,” Banks said. “I think our bond was just better at the end of the season.
“The beginning, we just weren’t there. We weren’t together.”
Banks bulls ahead
Henrich said he wasn’t happy with his team’s first-half performance last week against Blue Mountain or its practices leading up to Saturday. Banks has continued to please his coach with his running down the stretch.
Saturday marked the fifth straight game where Banks rushed for at least 120 yards and scored two touchdowns. He has piled up 832 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns over the past five games while averaging 8.6 yards per carry.
Bethlehem Catholic has overmatched its last few foes, but Banks’ string of strong games also included dates with Emmaus and Easton. Emmaus and Easton met Saturday night in a District 11 6A semifinal.
“He’s a great football player,” Henrich said. “He really has caught fire. He runs with a great lean right now. Everything is forward.”
Going for gold, again
Bethlehem Catholic will play for its third straight District 11 title and fifth in the past six years Nov. 17 at Nazareth High School. The Golden Hawks will face either No. 2 Saucon Valley or No. 3 Northwestern, who played later Saturday night.
Bethlehem Catholic beat Saucon Valley for the District 11 4A title each of the past two seasons. It won 3A titles in 2013 and 2014.
“It feels great,” Banks said. “A lot of teams don’t have this opportunity. You can’t just take it for granted.
“We need to keep working hard like we have been doing.”
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