Bethlehem Catholic improves to 3-1
Everyone wanted Eric Wert’s attention as he walked off the field after Friday night’s football game.
The media. His coach. The girls in the student section.
Wert did not score a single point in Bethlehem Catholic’s back-andforth 24-19 win over Bethlehem rival Liberty at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium.
But no player had a bigger impact on the outcome than Wert.
His 47-yard catch on a thirdand-9 play set the stage for the Golden Hawks’ go-ahead score with 4:57 remaining. Quarterback Luke Thomas, who connected with Wert on all seven completions, scored the TD on a 1-yard run.
Thomas, a senior, threw for 243 yards. Wert, a senior, caught seven passes for 154 yards.
Bethlehem Catholic’s ‘D’ stopped Liberty on a fourth-and-7 play from the Hurricanes’ 35 with 3:25 left, then the Golden Hawks’ ground game proceeded to run out the clock.
“I think No. 18 for them, Eric Wert, is a heck of a ballplayer and he’s been a big difference in a lot of the games,” Liberty coach Shawn Daignault said. “He was the difference tonight. They get him in space in all kinds of places. He really stood out.”
Liberty, 1-3 overall and 0-3 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference South Division, twice took one-point leads in the second half. Both times Bethlehem Catholic, 3-1 and 2-1, responded with TD drives to blow by the Hurricanes.
The last Liberty lead came when running back Jayden Rosado reached the end zone from 3 yards away with 8:52 left. The Hurricanes claimed a 19-18 advantage.
Bethlehem Catholic needed 10 plays and four minutes to re-establish a lead it would never relinquish.
The Golden Hawks covered 81 yards, with 47 coming on the big third-down play from Thomas to Wert. They converted two more times on third down. Thomas’ 1-yard plunge came on third-andgoal.
“Our defense played great the first three games,” Thomas said. “This one, we didn’t come out as strong on defense but there wasn’t a moment in the game that I doubted our offense and that we wouldn’t be able to score.”
“We needed to get the job done,” Wert said.
Liberty trailed 12-6 at intermission, forced a turnover early in the third quarter and turned it into six points on Rosado’s 27-yard sprint. Connor McLaughlin, who converted first-half field goals of 31 and 30 yards, made the extra point to put the Canes ahead 13-12.
Haas’ Hawks responded with a TD, when Thomas lofted a fade to 6-3 Jaiden Ellis-Lahey, who used his athleticism and size to pull in a 17-yard scoring strike.
“I think we’re a gritty group,”
Haas said. “We could’ve hung our heads and bailed any time throughout this game because Liberty kept coming back and coming back, but we didn’t. For us as coaches, it means we’re getting the message through. It’s good to be 3-1 after four weeks.”
The Golden Hawks surpassed last year’s win total of two.
Thomas and senior Rahmel Terry, who finished with 100 yards rushing on 21 carries, scored TDs on short runs in the first half. Bethlehem Catholic failed on all four post-touchdown attempts — twice on PATs and twice on two-point conversions.
“We know what Eric Wert and Jaiden Ellis-Lahey can do,” Haas said. “The thing is Luke’s progression. He’s getting better every week. He threw some really nice balls. I saw him take a huge step forward. If Luke can keep getting better, we’ll be tough to stop.”
Liberty was in an unusual position at halftime.
The Hurricanes trailed at intermission for the first time in their last six games. They led Parkland and Freedom last year, then Central Catholic, Whitehall, and Stroudsburg this season. Liberty went 1-4 in those five contests.
Again, the Canes failed to hold onto a lead despite the efforts of Rosado, a senior who did not carry the ball in the first quarter but finished with 75 yards and two TDs on 15 carries.
“Really, in the second half, I’m proud of the way we played,” Daignault said.
Football futures: Both teams play EPC South contests on Friday, Sept. 23. Bethlehem Catholic hosts undefeated Emmaus on Homecoming at BASD Stadium; Liberty travels to Andrew S. Leh Stadium to take on unbeaten Nazareth.
BETHLEHEM CATHOLIC 24, LIBERTY 19
Becahi 01266— 24
Liberty 3376— 19
FIRST QUARTER
FG Connor McLaughlin 31, 6:03(Drive: 10plays, 63yards, 6:03).
SECOND QUARTER
Rahmel Terry 3run (kick failed), 1:46(Drive: 11plays, 65yards, 5:59).
Luke Thomas 2run (run failed), 8:10(Drive: 8 plays, 81yards, 2:51).
FG McLaughlin 30, :00(Drive: 7plays, 13yards, 2:30).
THIRD QUARTER
Jayden Rosado 27run (McLaughlin kick), 7:24(7 plays, 52yards, 1:46).
Jaiden Ellis-Lahey 17pass from Thomas (pass failed), 3:05(9plays, 66yards, 4:14).
FOURTH QUARTER
Rosado 3run (pass failed), 8:52(7plays, 63 yards, 2:54).
Thomas 1run (pass failed), 4:57(10plays, 81 yards, 3:48).
Individual stats
RUSHING
Becahi (33-124): Terry 21-100, 1TD; Jacob Sutton 4-20; Zyaire Morris 3-5; Thomas 5-(-1), 2TD. Liberty (30-147): Rosado 15-75, 2TD; Tommy Mason 5-22; Guillaume Lumbayi 4-10; Camron Ellis 1-37; Gabriel Green 1-2; Nathaniel Abboud 1-1; Karim Brice 3-0.
PASSING
Thomas 15-23-1for 243, 1TD.
Mason 10-22-0for 83; Brice 0-1-0. RECEIVING
Becahi (15-243): Eric Wert 7-154; Ellis-Lahey 4-67, 1TD; Dwayne Kelly 1-7; Sutton 2-1; Terry 1-4. Liberty (10-83): Nico Sciarra 3-36; Joseph Powers 3-35; Brice 3-1; Rosado 1-11.