Barlok’s blazing TD, Liberty’s defense sparks rivalry in football win over Bethlehem Catholic

Jaxon Barlok might have surprised himself with his speed.

The Liberty High School junior didn’t think he had a chance to score when he caught the ball in Hurricanes territory late Saturday night in the fourth quarter.

As he continued to move, however, his outlook changed.

“I hit a little cut, took it down the field, used my speed and made it happen,” said Barlok, who traveled 70 yards for a touchdown to score the decisive points for Liberty.

The Hurricanes, ranked No. 9 by lehighvalleylive.com, defeated rival Bethlehem Catholic 12-7 in an Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Northampton Division match at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium.

It is Liberty’s first win over the Golden Hawks since 2015.

“It’s great. I love it,” Barlok said. “We played with heart and soul. We haven’t won in nine years. I’m happy. We all worked together.”

“Right now, to get a seventh win (of the season) against a city rival, you can’t measure it and what it means for us in terms of building (for) the future and confidence in the Freedom game,” Hurricanes head coach Shawn Daignault said. “…It means a lot; I’m not going to try to downplay that. It means a lot to me personally. It means a lot to a lot of these kids on a personal level.”

Liberty (7-2 overall, 2-2 division) trailed 7-6 when Bethlehem Catholic (4-5, 0-4) turned the ball over on downs at the Hurricanes’ 30-yard line with 2:56 left in the fourth quarter.

On the second snap of the ensuing series, junior quarterback Antonio Fontanez found Barlok up the middle on a dig route for the biggest play of the night.

It was only the third reception of the season for Barlok, whose father, Tim, was a star running back in Catholic Bethlehem. An injury in last week’s loss to Easton created an opportunity for the young wideout/defensive back.

“I give him a lot of credit because he’s an explosive athlete — he knows that, we know that,” Daignault said of Barlok. “He has been behind Jahsi Cole most of the year, both on offense and defense. This week he really had to go one step further. He played every snap at safety and some snaps at wide receiver. His first few steps are as fast as we are. He just had to keep developing. Instead of hanging his head or getting frustrated with a lack of playing time, the kid just kept working hard and staying focused.”

Daignault particularly praised the junior’s work in safety.

“He also played a very good game defensively,” said the coach. “I know the catch… this is what everyone is going to talk about. But he went from playing a few snaps to playing the most tonight. Give the child a lot of credit.”

Bethlehem Catholic had a pair of possessions in the final 2:40. After earning a first down on a pass interference penalty, the Golden Hawks were intercepted by Liberty junior linebacker Adriaan Deleon.

The Hurricanes ran the ball twice on the next series. However, the second rush ended up out of bounds and stopped the clock. Liberty threw an incompletion on third down before punting the ball away.

The Golden Hawks took over at their 11-yard line with 1:37 left. Becahi reached the 27-yard line before turning the ball over on downs with a 4-yard scramble on fourth-and-5.

“We have tackled better than we have in recent weeks, to say the least,” Daignault said of the Liberty defense. “I thought we got to the quarterback. He (Cayden Vassa) runs around, and he scares you to death because you’ve seen him play against teams. We were able to keep all those fights to a minimum.”

Becahi took the lead when junior quarterback Cayden Vassa Rodney Brodie, another junior, hit wide at level behind the Hurricanes secondary for a 44-yard touchdown. Senior kicker Ethan Wiles’ extra point pushed the Hawks to a 7-6 lead with 9:30 left in the fourth quarter.

Liberty initially took the lead thanks to some explosive passing plays in the second quarter. Fontanez connected with sophomore wideout Zyaire Davis for a 20-yard gain and followed that with a 40-yard throw to junior receiver Jake Pukszyn, putting the Hurricanes at Becahi’s 1. Junior tailback Gabe Green drove across the goal line to give his team a lead. 6-0 lead with 9:33 remaining in the first half.

The Hawks reached the Liberty 5-yard line on the next series. However, Davis broke up a pass on fourth-and-goal to keep Becahi off the scoreboard.

Becahi blocked a 26-yard field goal attempt on the final play of the second quarter, sending the game into halftime with a 6-0 score.

“When we went into the locker room and had a conversation, we had to step up,” Barlok said. “The defense played great. We just needed the attack to score. The O-line has definitely improved.”

Liberty failed to extend its lead by turning the ball over twice during the third quarter on downs in Hawks territory, including an inch short on fourth and sixth from the 30.

“We had enough chances. We turned the ball over twice on downs in the second half after driving,” Daignault said. “In the first half, the field goal was an accident and, quite frankly, poor coaching on our part. We had to do better in terms of the way we set that thing up.

“We shot ourselves in the foot a little bit, and they’re too good to do that and let them hang around. They have too many athletes; Sooner or later one of those guys is going to make a move – and they did to get the lead on us for a while.

Pukszyn finished with six receptions for 74 yards and added an interception on defense. Green rushed for 52 yards on 16 carries.

Brodie had seven receptions for 82 yards. Tailbacks Jeziah Gregory and Vassa rushed for 61 and 80 yards, respectively, for Becahi, which collected 14 accepted penalties for 123 yards.

The Hawks, who have qualified for the District 11 Class 4A playoffs, close the regular season at Northampton (4-5).

Liberty meets Freedom (8-1) next weekend with a city championship on the line.

“We have to get better,” Barlok said. “We have to work hard this week.”

“I’m glad it’s such an important game,” Daignault added. “…It will be a special week. I’m no historian, but I can’t tell you the last time Freedom and Liberty entered that game with 15 combined wins. The place is going to rock.”

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Kyle Craig can be reached at [email protected].