When they were hired last winter, new Bethlehem Catholic coach Joe Bernard and new Allentown Central Catholic boss Jake Reichard talked about restoring pride in two of the area’s proudest football programs.
The Golden Hawks and Vikings have both won 14 District 11 titles and have combined for five state championships.
When they talked about restoring pride, they both knew that the best way to do that was to play winning football that lasted deep into November, or as former ACCHS coach Jim Morgans used to say, until the Christmas lights are shining through the windows in the PPL building in downtown Allentown.
Both Bernard and Reichard have established their programs, and as will happen when you’re a 4A school playing against 5A and 6A teams all season, they have encountered some highs and lows.
However, both feel good about their teams as they begin play in the District 11 4A tournament on Thursday night. Bethlehem Catholic hosts Pottsville at BASD Stadium, while ACCHS welcomes Jim Thorpe to J. Birney Crum Stadium.
If both win, they would meet for a second time this season next week in the semifinals.
But first things first, and both Bernard and Reichard don’t want their kids to look ahead to a possible second Holy War before taking care of their business against teams from outside the area.
“I feel good about our team,” Bernard said. “When you play in our division, it’s a war every week, and I talked to our staff and kids about it, and that tough competition we’ve faced has built us to the point where we’re in the playoffs and we’re seasoned through the adversity and through the big games and having to battle really good football teams every single week. As we get healthy, we should be able to match up with the teams we’ll face in 4A.”
For Becahi, so much depends on the health of playmakers Cayden and Carter Vassa, who have both missed significant time in the second half of the season. Axel Burkart has moved into the quarterback role with Cayden Vassa operating more as a running back. Who will play where against Pottsville remains to be seen as Bernard and his staff have to continually monitor injuries.
“The good thing about these kids is that they’re all unselfish,” Bernard said. “We can move those guys around to get everybody on the field and it’s important to get as many good athletes on the field as possible.
“Cayden looks like he’s good to go and he adds a lot of multiplicity to the offense. Carter is more doubtful. It’s day-to-day, and we’re also looking to get back Justin Martinez, who played so well for us early in the season before getting hurt. That would be a big plus because we haven’t had our offense all together since Week 2 when we played against Emmaus.”
Central’s Reichard said his team is fairly healthy, but he has concerns about Jim Thorpe.
“You see on film that they’re a well-coached team that doesn’t make mistakes,” Reichard said. “They have their concepts, and they know what they are doing. They also have a quarterback [Cole Lazorick] who is scary because he’s a dual-threat kid. He’s a big kid, a three-sport athlete. He’s going to make plays, and he makes their offense go, and he’s a good player defensively.”
Reichard’s first goal is to make sure his kids don’t overlook Jim Thorpe en route to a Becahi rematch.
“I feel like a lot of people think they’re just another team from the north and they don’t play anybody, but this team has played Northwestern Lehigh and Southern Lehigh and some really good teams,” Reichard said. “We can’t think we’re just going to show up and win. If we do that, we’re going to be in trouble. This team has played good teams, and they’re going to come to play.”
Both coaches know that rain is in the forecast, and wet weather can be a great equalizer.
“We just have to focus on what we can control,” Reichard said. “The goal for every team that begins a season is to get to Week 11, and here we are. I’m just excited that we have this opportunity. I know our kids have a bad taste in their mouths from what happened at the end of last year. We just want to get this first playoff win and see where we can go from there.”
Allentown Central Catholic coach Jake Reichard has been seeking consistency, particularly on offense, where ACCHS has averaged 30.4 ppg in its five wins and just 17.2 in its five losses. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call)
No. 7 Pottsville (3-7) at No. 2 Bethlehem Catholic (6-4)
When/where: 7:05 p.m. Thursday at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium
At stake: A berth in the semifinals against either No. 3 Allentown Central Catholic (5-5) or No. 6 Jim Thorpe (4-5)
The storylines: Becahi is going for its 15th District 11 title and seventh since 2013. The Golden Hawks are coming off an important 24-21 win over Northampton that snapped a three-game losing streak. All four of their losses were to EPC Northampton County rivals, and all are 6A teams. Bernard, who replaced Tyler Ward, previously was an assistant at Becahi in the early 1980s and had head coaching stints at Nazareth and Stroudsburg along with a vast amount of college coaching experience. Under Ward, Becahi made it to back-to-back district finals, beating ACCHS 29-0 in 2023 and falling to Southern Lehigh 28-7 last year. Pottsville last won the District 11 4A title in 2019 when the Tide beat Becahi 18-13 in the semis and ACCHS 34-7 in the finals. Pottsville also won district crowns in 2004, ’05, and ’06.
Players to watch: Pottsville junior quarterback Andrew Allen has thrown for 1,124 yards and 11 TDs. Senior RB Juleon Bainbridge has rushed 504 yards, and junior Nicholas Huda has caught 23 passes for 235 yards and two TDs. The defense is led by junior linebacker Shay Strencosky, who has 64 stops. The Golden Hawks have used two QBs. Senior Cayden Vassa has passed for 685 yards and 4 TDs, while Axel Burkart has thrown for 1,253 yards and 9 scores. Carter Vassa is the top target for both QBs with 47 catches for 802 yards. Cayden Vassa is the team’s top rusher with 715 yards and 10 TDs.
Keith Groller’s pick: Becahi 42-13
No. 6 Jim Thorpe (4-6) at No. 3 Allentown CCHS (5-5)
When/where: 7 p.m. Thursday at J. Birney Crum Stadium, Allentown
At stake: A berth in the semifinals against either No. 2 Becahi (6-4) or No. 7 Pottsville 3-7.
The storylines: The Vikings have had an up-and-down season, with their most impressive win being against Pocono Mountain East, which finished the regular season at 7-3. They are coming off a disappointing 49-14 loss to Whitehall to close the regular season. First-year coach Jake Reichard has been seeking consistency, particularly on offense, where ACCHS has averaged 30.4 ppg in its five wins and just 17.2 in its five losses. Central was ousted by Pottsville 14-7 in last year’s quarterfinals. The Vikings have won 14 district titles, tied with Becahi for the most in the area. Jim Thorpe’s four wins have come over teams with 10 wins combined. The Olympians were 3-8 last year and lost to Southern Lehigh 56-27 in the district quarterfinals. They have not won a district playoff game since beating Notre Dame-Green Pond 26-18 in the 2021 quarterfinals.
Players to watch: Central’s junior quarterback Patrick Cahill has thrown for 1,505 yards and 15 touchdowns. Sophomore Tahir Edmondson, who played at Executive last season, is the top receiver with 32 catches for 496 yards and six TDs. Luis Martinez has 21 grabs for 374 yards. The rushing attack is led by Deon Johnson, who has 361 yards and 5 TDs, while Tate Shoemaker has added 306 yards and four scores. Di’Quiawn Leak is the top tackler with 47 stops. Senior Cole Lazorick leads the Olympians with 1,581 yards passing and 15 TDs in the air while also running for 571 yards and 5 TDs. Sophomore Spencer Gothard has 18 catches for 339 yards and 5 TDs, and freshman Bobby Levins has run for 386 and 6 TDs.
Keith Groller’s pick: ACCHS 26-16