Southern Lehigh Cruises in Second Half to Capture District XI 4A Title(Video Recap)
Tagged under: District 11, Gameday Hub, News, pfn, Playoffs
Cody Brady | November 14, 2025
Solehi v Beca TV by PAFootball Newsdotcom
Southern Lehigh’s opening drive of the second half spanned nearly five minutes and culminated with a microcosm of things to come. Sean Steckert ran the last three plays after a Hawks personal foul. First for 14 yards, then five more, and finally into the end zone for the third time on the night to extend the Spartans lead to 35-21. He finished with over 250 yards and five scores in a 49-28 Spartans victory, besting the Golden Hawks for the second straight year. That’s just a small taste, as Steckert would end up running more times than Bethlehem Catholic ran plays in this one.
Bethlehem Catholic had revenge on their minds for last year’s 28-7 loss. They took the opening kickoff and Cayden Vassa hooked up with Rodney Brodie in the back corner of the end zone on a 31-yard touchdown pass. Four minutes into the game, the Hawks had a 7-0 lead.
The Spartans fired back over the next three minutes, as Colton Sams connected with Luke Kawczenski for 11 yards to get to the 10-yard line. From there, Sean Steckert ran it twice, sandwiched between a Hawks penalty that moved the ball from the seven to the three. Steckert accelerated through the middle to get his team on the board. The extra point was blocked, so the score remained 7-6 with 5:13 to go in the first quarter.
Lucas Sutyak halted the next Beca drive with a hit in the backfield against Cayden Vassa. The Spartans ran Steckert after getting the ball back on the punt. His first gashing run went for 19 yards. Colton Sams then found Tanner Traub all alone for an 18-yard touchdown. The PAT was blocked, but Southern Lehigh has its first lead of the night–and it would be the final lead change of the game.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Golden Hawks were tagged with a personal foul, one of nine crucial penalties on the night. This one backed them up to their own 8-yard line. On the ensuing play, the snap got away from Cayden Vassa who was forced to go back and get the ball. He was brought down in the end zone for a safety, giving Southern Lehigh the two points back that they had lost on XPs.
The Spartans got the ball back at the Hawks 47 and grinded out an 8-minute, 11-play drive. Steckert carried on the final four plays for gains of 6, 5, 3, and finally a 1-yard touchdown. The Spartans had a 20-7 lead midway through the second quarter.
The next five minutes was quiet, as the teams exchanged punts. But over the final two minutes of the half, three touchdowns were piled up. First, Cayden Vassa connected on a series of longer passes, including a 21-yarder to Armando Thom. On the next play, with 1:51 to go in the half, Cayden Vassa ran up the gut for a 7-yard touchdown, cutting the Hawks deficit to 20-14.
But Southern Lehigh had an answer. Colton Sams uncorked a 40-yard pass to Otto Young, who shook of his defender and raced into the end zone. The Spartans were again up by two scores at 28-14 with only 38 seconds left in the half. With the Spartans getting the ball to start the second half, Bethlehem Catholic could not just sit back, lick their wounds, and go into the locker room. After ripping off a 25-yard gain on a keeper, Axel Burkhart threaded the needle through near triple coverage to Carter Vassa for 28 yards over the middle. He then, under heavy duress, fired to Cayden Vassa for a leaping grab in the front corner of the end zone. At the break, Bethlehem Catholic was hanging in, only down 28-21.
At the intermission, Southern Lehigh had a slight edge in time of possession–roughly 14 minutes to 10. They also ran 28 of the first 40 plays of the contest, which would become a big factor in fatiguing the Hawks defensive unit.
The Spartans’ opening drive of the second half chewed up 4:36 and ended when Sean Steckert scored for the third time of the night. Along the way, a personal foul by the Golden Hawks moved the ball from their 35 to their 20. On the game, Beca committed seven personal fouls, giving up gobs of yardage and shooting themselves in the foot at the most inopportune times.
The Southern Lehigh defense took over from there. Lucas Sutyak came from his defensive end position to sack Burkhart, backing the Hawks up on their own 6, forcing them to punt from the end zone.
As the fourth quarter opened, the Spartans were in business at the Hawks 3. Steckert carried the rock in for a 42-21 lead with 11:54 to play.
All of the air finally came out of the Bethlehem Catholic balloon with 9:29 to play. Burkhart and company have driven from their own 46 to the Spartans 20. Burkhart fired towards the end zone, but only John Pavis was in the vicinity. He got a paw on the ball, it tipped up in the air, and he was able to grab it as he fell to the turf in a catch that required immense concentration.
A steady dose of Steckert over the next eight minutes wore down what was left of the Bethlehem Catholic defense. Sean Steckert scored for a fifth time, going in from 10 yards out, running harder than ever in the late minutes with victory in sight. By the time all was said and done, Steckert ran the ball more times than the Hawks had plays in the game.
Axel Burkhart connected on a 39-yard touchdown pass to Mason Thomas in the waning moments of the contest, bringing the final score to 49-28. The onside kick was gobbled up by Jakoby Jacobs to help secure the victory.
Steckert ran 46 times for 267 yards and five scores. Colton Sams was 8-of-13 for 105 yards and two touchdowns.
In defeat, the Hawks were held to 92 rushing yards. The team was penalized nine times for 105 yards.
Southern Lehigh advances to take on either Shamokin or Bellefonte next weekend in the PIAA 4A quarterfinals.
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