By Karrington Kincaid, The Seattle Medium
In another epic clash between the O’Dea Fighting Irish and the Eastside Catholic Crusaders on Thursday night, the atmosphere crackled with anticipation. The pregame warmups, coupled with the senior night celebrations, sent the crowd into a frenzy, creating an electrifying environment.
Eastside Catholic Head Coach Brent Merritt had a good feeling about his team’s chances going into the game.
“It’s going to be a fun rivalry game,” said Merritt. “It’s always going to be fought hard, lots of intensity, and always fun. I love going against them and so I’m looking forward to a great game tonight.”
The Crusaders kicked off the game with a bang as they knocked down a barrage of three-point shots from the hands of Tate Dawson, Kayden Greene, and Will Hamilton. The trio amassed 10 of Eastside Catholic’s 18 points in the first quarter. However, O’Dea’s Brian Webster and Breylon Webb countered with sharpshooting of their own, contributing 10 of the Fighting Irish’s 13 first-quarter points, keeping them within striking distance at 18-13 heading into the second quarter.
Eastside Catholic continued their offensive onslaught in the second quarter, with Jacob Cofie, Will Hamilton, and Nate Krohn leading the charge. Cofie would be the dominant figure in the quarter as he poured in 10 points. O’Dea’s Malcolm Clark scored seven points in the quarter, including two three-point shots to help pace the Fighting Irish. However, despite Clark’s efforts, the Crusaders extended their lead to a commanding 37-24 by halftime.
A pivotal halftime message sparked a dramatic turnaround for the Fighting Irish in the second half. As the third quarter unfolded, Jacob Cofie’s early dunk for Eastside was met with a swift response from O’Dea’s Brian Webster, as he knocked down a critical three-point shot that initiated a stunning 13-point comeback by the Fighting Irish.
The momentum completely shifted to O’Dea after a steal by point guard Brian Shannon quickly led to a three-point shot by Adonai Burkett. The Fighting Irish completely shut down the Crusaders as they only allowed them to score five points in the quarter, as O’Dea outscored Eastside Catholic 29-5 in the quarter and led 53-42 going into the final quarter.
The unbelievable rally by the Fighting Irish did not faze Eastside Catholic by any means as the Crusaders climbed their way back into the game. Eastside Catholic guard Alex Elston would score eight fourth-quarter points, as he and Cofie would combine for 14 of the Crusaders’ 18 points in the final quarter. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as O’Dea’s Brian Webster, Malcolm Clark, and Brian Shannon secured crucial points, sealing the comeback victory.
As this was taking place, Eastside Catholic’s crowd slowly lost the hope that they had for their team to make a fourth-quarter comeback. The energy completely shifted to O’Dea’s student bench and section as the team rode the energy of the crowd until the game finally came to an end. The final effort from O’Dea helped them secure a 66-60 victory over Eastside Catholic as they completed one of their largest comebacks wins of their season.