By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
The O’Dea Fighting Irish and the Eastside Catholic Crusaders faced off Friday night on Crusader territory in a highly anticipated Metro League matchup.
The Crusaders’ defense dominated early, with Cody Thumlert making a tone-setting tackle against O’Dea’s Uriah Stringfield during the first minute of the opening quarter. The Crusaders’ defensive pressure continued as Waswa Lugolobi recorded a big hit on O’Dea’s Giulio Banchero that lit up the Eastside student section.
As the defensive efforts from Eastside Catholic continued, O’Dea struggled to gain ground against the Crusaders’ relentless defensive pressure, which led to a false start penalty that pushed O’Dea back 5 yards. As the Fighting Irish continued to struggle to get their offense on track, a pass intended for O’Dea’s Hutton Leverett was knocked down by Eastside’s Laz Lautele, stalling O’Dea’s momentum and forcing them to punt and hand the ball back to the Crusaders. However, O’Dea’s defense held their ground and forced a punt that was returned for a touchdown by the Fighting Irish’s Sage Salopek, giving O’Dea a 7-0 lead after a successful extra point kick.
The touchdown seemed to ignite a spark in the Fighting Irish, and they began to showcase their defensive abilities. After Eastside Catholic moved the ball down to the 40-yard line, O’Dea’s David Schwerzel recorded a sack, which was followed by a false start penalty against the Crusaders, stalling another Eastside Catholic drive, as the Fighting Irish held a 7-0 lead after the first quarter.
Eastside Catholic started the second quarter off strong, as they moved the ball downfield behind the running efforts of Jeremiah Burroughs. However, penalties once again stalled their progress. After a crucial false start on 3rd down, Eastside’s Carson McKelheer intercepted an O’Dea pass, temporarily shifting momentum. Despite the turnover, Eastside’s attempt at a touchdown was thwarted when a pass to Asa Thompson fell incomplete.
Emotions ran high as the game saw physical play and brief altercations on the field, as both teams battled back and forth throughout the quarter. With just over a minute remaining in the half, Eastside Catholic moved the ball to midfield until the drive was stalled thanks to an interception by O’Dea’s Owen Brustkern. However, the Crusaders quickly returned the favor as River Shute recorded an interception just before halftime. The score remained the same, with O’Dea leading 7-0 as they entered halftime.
Eastside started the second half with possession of the ball, and Burroughs continued moving the chains with positive yardage on each play. Despite the great advancements down the field for Eastside Catholic, a holding penalty called back an apparent touchdown by Eastside’s Robert Ingram. Beating them while their spirits were down, O’Dea’s Frederik Parks blocked a pass intended for Eastside’s Tytan McNeal to end another scoring threat by the Crusaders.
O’Dea made their next possession count, advancing to the 15-yard line despite another false start penalty. Not letting the penalties affect their offensive efforts, O’Dea’s Rasaan Thomas had an 8-yard run that pushed the Fighting Irish closer to the end zone. With a minute left in the third quarter, Leverett scored a touchdown for O’Dea to give them a 14-0 lead.
Following O’Dea’s touchdown, Eastside Catholic faced another setback when a holding penalty was called, followed by an interception by Salopek that began to slow down the Crusaders’ momentum. The clock then slowly ran out, leaving the score at 14-0 in favor of O’Dea as they entered the final quarter.
Just two minutes into the final quarter of the game, Eastside Catholic was called for a pass interference penalty, which made it challenging for the Crusaders to regain momentum. However, the Fighting Irish continued to excel on the field, as a successful field goal extended their lead to 17-0. After regaining possession, Eastside Catholic fumbled the ball, allowing O’Dea to take over as the game was nearing the end.
The field goals for O’Dea seemed to be their strong suit, as they brought the score to 20-0 following their second successful kick of the night.
With 2:56 remaining in the game, O’Dea had managed to keep the Crusaders scoreless. Despite the score, the Crusaders were still determined to get points on the scoreboard. Burroughs, who continued to lead the fight for his team, nearly scored a touchdown, but the pass attempt to him fell short.
The last two minutes flew by as the game ended with a sack by O’Dea’s Tevita Nonu shortly before the clock ran out, and the Fighting Irish secured the victory over the Crusaders with a final score of 20-0.
“Tonight was great. The defense obviously played really well, I mean the whole game they played really well, and that first half was something special,” said O’Dea Head Football Coach Monte Kholer after the game. “I am really proud of the kids, the coaches, and the effort. It was a fun football game.”
