By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
The O’Dea Fighting Irish started their Metro League schedule with a decisive 49-6 victory over the Rainier Beach Vikings last night at West Seattle Stadium.
Despite both teams taking the field with high energy, the first quarter of play got off to a slow start as both teams took time to get their feel for the field. Rainier Beach’s defense, led by junior Sione Ahomana, put up a solid front early and stopped O’Dea’s offense on its opening drive. However, the Vikings’ defensive efforts couldn’t contain O’Dea for long. With a little over five minutes left in the first quarter, O’Dea senior Luther Hill scored on a 10-yard touchdown run. Senior kicker Owen Livingston followed with a successful extra point, giving O’Dea a 7-0 lead.
As the first quarter wore on, Rainier Beach struggled to advance the ball past midfield, and as the clock ticked down to 3:07, both defenses continued to hold strong.
As the end of the quarter drew near, O’Dea once again found themselves knocking on the door of the end zone, and with 44 seconds left in the quarter, O’Dea’s Malik Dawson scored on a 5-yard touchdown run. Starting to feel the pressure from the Fighting Irish, Vikings’ quarterback Marcus Harrington Jr. attempted to throw a pass to keep the ball moving, but unfortunately, he threw it to the opposing team, as the ball landed in the hands of O’Dea’s King Allah before he dropped it out of bounds. The Fighting Irish held a 13-0 lead going into the second quarter.
The second quarter started with Rainier Beach calling an early timeout, hoping to reset their defense. The break paid off briefly as the Vikings’ Ray Proctor-Mills Jr. intercepted an O’Dea pass on 3rd down. However, O’Dea quickly responded as Davion Sherlock intercepted the ball on the very next play.
O’Dea capitalized on this opportunity as they steadily advanced the ball down the field. O’Dea’s Davion Sherlock would cap off the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run. Following the touchdown, Livingston successfully made the extra point attempt, giving O’Dea the lead at 21-0.
Unable to gain significant yardage, Rainier Beach continued to struggle offensively. With just over six minutes left in the half, O’Dea forced another turnover and scored again within a minute, extending the lead to 28-0. Desperate to slow O’Dea’s attack, Rainier Beach called another timeout, but the damage had already been done.
Despite strong efforts from the Vikings’ Ze Watkins, who made a key tackle against O’Dea’s Hutton Leverett on 4th down, the first half ended with O’Dea firmly in control, leading 28-0.
As the second half started, there were a lot of delays in the game due to injuries and flags. But those delays did not stop O’Dea from continuing to execute on both sides of the ball. Dawson secured his second touchdown of the night on a 10-yard touchdown run with nine minutes left in the third quarter, bringing the score to 35-0.
At this point, it was safe to say that O’Dea’s defense was starting to overpower the Vikings. Rainier Beach had no answers for O’Dea’s defensive pressure, which forced poor decisions and errant throws. A near-sack by O’Dea’s Montre Jenkins pressured the Vikings’ Jayden Tyler into throwing the ball out of bounds, stalling any hope of a sustained drive by Rainier Beach.
O’Dea’s defense continued to smother the Vikings, and senior Joseph Fuavai intercepted a pass from Tyler just 15 yards from the end zone, returning it for another O’Dea touchdown. Livingston’s extra point made it 42-0 as the third quarter wound down, cementing the Fighting Irish’s total dominance.
Despite the score, Beach was still giving their all to tackle O’Dea players and stop their progress, as the Vikings’ Cassius Culpepper and Watkins collectively tackled an O’Dea player at the 20-yard line. However, time was not in the Vikings’ favor as the game clock was winding down quickly.
Embarking on now a 42-0 run on the Vikings, O’Dea continued to move the ball down the field almost effortlessly.
Roughly four minutes into the final quarter of play, O’Dea’s Peyton Egan scored on a 10-yard touchdown run, stretching the Fighting Irish’s lead over the Vikings to 49-0.
Beach, still determined to make a comeback and get points on the board, managed to advance the ball to the 22-yard line with 4:41 remaining but was brought back due to a penalty called on the play.
In the final three minutes, the Vikings pushed the ball to the 15-yard line, allowing Rainier Beach’s Akeem Murph Jr. to score the Vikings’ lone touchdown of the night. After the touchdown, the Vikings attempted a two-point conversion but were stopped by O’Dea’s defense, leaving the score at 49-6. At this point in the matchup, the game was nearing the end as the clock continued to run down until the final buzzer, leaving the game to conclude with a final score of 49-6.