“O’Dea Fighting Irish advance to 3A football championship”

By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium

The O’Dea Fighting Irish defeated the Eastside Catholic Crusaders 17-14 to qualify for the 3A state football championship game next Friday, December 6th at Husky Stadium.

O’Dea started the game with possession and quickly moved the ball downfield behind Uriah Stringfield’s running attempts. However, Eastside Catholic’s Carson McKelheer made a big tackle, followed by a sack by Tytan McNeal and Waswa Lugolobi, forcing O’Dea to punt the ball on fourth down.

Despite running efforts from Jeremiah Burroughs and Isaac Corey, the Fighting Irish defense was up to the challenge and forced a punt on fourth down as well.

As the quarter progressed, both teams struggled offensively as they traded punts and missed opportunities to advance the ball.

Late in the first quarter, McNeal recovered a fumble by O’Dea. Burroughs worked hard to make the most of the opportunity but was abruptly stopped by O’Dea’s Rasaan Thomas as the two teams battled to a scoreless draw at the end of the first quarter. Burroughs finally broke the ice when he broke through the Fighting Irish defense for a 40-yard touchdown just 20 seconds into the second quarter. His team took a 7-0 lead after a successful PAT from kicker Connor Brandt.

O’Dea responded with a shot on goal of their own as they moved the ball from their 27-yard line to Eastside’s 20-yard line. A series of penalties halted the drive, but O’Dea scored three points when kicker Owen Livingston hit a 22-yard field goal to increase the score to 7-3 with 8 minutes left in the half.

O’Dea regained possession after David Schwerzel blocked an Eastside Catholic punt.

Stringfield continued to lead the Fighting Irish offense downfield on their next possession, but Eastside’s defense stepped up with a tackle by Liufau Loumoi that put O’Dea’s Peyton Egan through. Despite pressure from the Eastside defense, O’Dea managed to kick a 39-yard field goal, increasing the score to 7-6 in Eastside’s favor.

With two minutes left in the half, Eastside Catholic moved into scoring position again when Corey connected with Jaylen Keller on a long pass to the O’Dea 36-yard line. However, consecutive sacks by O’Dea’s Joseph Fuavai and Jeremiah Nonu ended the scoring threat and forced another Crusaders punt. The first half ended with a score of 7-6, with O’Dea trailing by one.

Eastside began the second half with the ball, and almost immediately O’Dea’s King Allah delivered a huge blow to Eastside’s Kaz Lautele as the Fighting Irish defense forced another three-pointer from the Crusader offense.

With 3:32 left in the third quarter, O’Dea’s Sage Salopek intercepted the ball. However, the following plays were filled with incomplete passes due to Eastside’s strong defense, and Eastside quickly regained possession.

Eastside finished the third quarter with strong performances from Corey and Burroughs and entered the fourth quarter with a one-point lead of 7-6.

Eastside Catholic extended its lead to 14-8 with 10:18 left in the fourth quarter when McKelheer returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown, followed by a successful PAT kick from Brandt.

After the touchdown, Eastside’s River Shute and Keller stopped Stringfield after its long run to the 17-yard line. O’Dea was then warned for a false start penalty on fourth down, and instead of trying, they kicked a 25-yard field goal that was successful, increasing the score to 9-14.

The two teams again exchanged punts and possession until the final minute of the game. Trailing by 5 yards, O’Dea took the lead on a 58-yard catch-and-run for a Giulio Banchero touchdown. O’Dea’s Julian Thomas Goodson then added a successful two-point conversion attempt to give the Fighting Irish a 17-14 lead with 27 seconds left in the game.

After the touchdown, the Crusaders collapsed under pressure and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by O’Dea’s Davin Sherlock. He held onto the ball until the clock hit 0 as the Fighting Irish clinched a spot in the 3A state championship game next week at Husky Stadium, where they will face the Bellevue Wolverines.

After the game, O’Dea head coach Monte Kohler was full of emotions and ready for next week.

“It was a close game, but it was definitely fun. Now we only have one,” said Kohler.

Visual highlights from O’Dea vs. Eastside Catholic