New coach, same strong cast playing for Becahi
Senior Justin Paz in sixth place on school’s all-time scoring list.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Bethlehem Catholic was the last team standing in local football again this fall. The Golden Hawks season didn’t end until Friday night’s loss to Imhotep Charter in the PIAA 4A semifinals.
It has become a familiar story for Becahi since the football program has lost three years in a row to Imhotep in the state’s final four and the basketball team also had one of the best seasons in school history end at the hands of the Panthers last March in the 4A hoops semis.
The Golden Hawks went 28-4 last year, tying for the best record in school history and winning the program’s first league championship since 2003 in addition to a second straight district crown.
Several significant pieces are gone from last year’s championship.
Morning Call player of the year Ryan Young is gone as several other key seniors on last year’s team.
But the most obvious absence is at the top where Ray Barbosa left after three seasons as head coach to become the first coach at Executive Education Academy Charter School and former Muhlenberg College coach Scott McClary was hired.
McClary spent last year as an assistant coach on Eastern Pennsylvania Conference runner-up and District 11 5A champ Central Catholic.
“Beginnings are fun; beginnings are exciting,” McClary said. “In every gym, there’s a lot of enthusiasm and we’re no different because this program is coming off a great year, a historic year. The guys who were a part of that, they want to keep building, keep going.
“For me, I am so grateful to coach [Dennis] Csensits and the Central Catholic community. I had a wonderful year last year and so did my son as a freshman. But this was a great opportunity for both of us.”
McClary’s son, Caden, is a 6-foot-4 sophomore and one of a number of younger players who appear poised to keep Becahi strong in the coming years.
But for seniors Justin Paz and Kyle Young, it’s all about now.
Paz enters the season with 1,293 points and in sixth place on the school’s all-time scoring list. Paz has a great chance of topping the 1,485 registered by Bob Bukvics from 1956-60 and becoming the top scorer in school history.
Paz and Young would like something even more and that’s getting that one more win that would have them end their Becahi careers in Hershey.
If the Golden Hawks are going to have a shot at playing deep into March, Paz and Young will need help from the Santana twins, Ryan and Bryan, and Julian Thomas among others.
Three things to know
1. McClary’s coaching staff features former Muhlenberg grads Darrell Roth and Nigel Long as well as Anthony Selby, Chris Lynch and Adam Beers.
2. Becahi’s schedule opens with a trip to Baltimore with a game against a member of the Baltimore Catholic League, power John Carroll High School and the plan is to do that every year, tapping into McClary’s ties in that area. There are several other attractive nonleague dates including Archbishop Wood of the Philly Catholic League and an appearance in the Lehigh Valley Hoop Group event against St. John’s of Washington, D.C.
3. McClary said the practices have featured high energy. “My observation is that the guys are doing their best to be coachable, bring energy and feed off the energy of the coaching staff. We’ve got a great group of young coaches who bring a lot of energy. If you don’t bring it, you’re going to be on an island. Now we’re going to have to translate that mentality to games.”
Final thoughts
Becahi was caught in a bind when Barbosa left, but the program fell into good hands with the hiring of McClary, who brings a vast amount of coaching experience at a variety of levels and has college connections which are so important to parents. Expect another good season on Madison Ave.
It was a repeat
kgroller@mcall.com Twitter @KeithGroller 610-820-6740