By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
The undefeated Fighting Irish of O’Dea (10-0) maintained their winning streak by defeating the Auburn Riverside Ravens (7-4) in a decisive 48-0 victory during last night’s state 3A football playoffs at Memorial Stadium.
Watching the O’Dea’s Fighting Irish in action week after week feels like déjà vu, as they consistently showcase their physical dominance and continue to defend their right to remain in the journey to play for a state championship. O’Dea High School Head Football Coach Monte Kohler emphasized the importance of showing up for every game, regardless of the opponent.
“It was a fun game. The boys really did a nice job, but you know that can all come to an abrupt stop in a hurry,” said Kohler after the game.
At the start of the game, the energy levels were high on both sides, creating an atmosphere that suggested a close-scoring contest rather than the blowout wins experienced by O’Dea in recent weeks. Despite having a decent season, the Ravens appeared ready to put up a fight against the Fighting Irish.
O’Dea’s Jason Brown, Jr. has been a standout player throughout the season, consistently scoring 4-5 touchdowns per game. Brown’s performance last night, which included another 5 touchdowns, came as no surprise.
While 12 minutes per quarter may not seem like much time to build a significant lead, the Fighting Irish demonstrated otherwise. Just 3 minutes into the game, Brown scored his first touchdown, giving O’Dea an early 7-0 lead.
Brown’s first touchdown ignited a surge of momentum among his teammates. Less than a minute later, O’Dea’s Kyan McDonald sprinted to the endzone on a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown. This extended O’Dea’s lead to 14 points just 4 minutes into the game and set the tone for the evening.
Aside from the flurry of points scored in the first quarter, it felt like a drawn-out period due to frequent stoppages in play caused by various penalties flagged by the referees. However, these interruptions gave the Ravens a chance to regroup.
On the other hand, the Fighting Irish continued to press on relentlessly. A 9-yard touchdown from Brown stretched O’Dea’s lead to 21-0 with the help of a successful extra point attempt.
Both teams played with intensity, and it began to show. With five minutes remaining in the first quarter, Rasaan Thomas of the Fighting Irish made what appeared to be an interception return for a touchdown that would have taken all the fight out of the Ravens, but the play was nullified due to a face mask penalty on the Irish.
To wrap up the first quarter, Brown would continue his scoring barrage. With just a minute left in the quarter, Brown scored on a 34-yard touchdown run, as O’Dea built a 28-0 first-quarter lead.
During the second quarter, Riverside appeared to catch a break. With a little under 11 minutes remaining in the second quarter, O’Dea’s Luke D’anna fumbled the ball deep in Fighting Irish territory, which was recovered by Auburn Riverside’s Thyrou Umi-Tuato’o.
However, O’Dea would quickly return the favor on the very next play as Kyan McDonald intercepted a pass and O’Dea took over possession of the football.
Starting to show their presence on the field, the Ravens’ Diego Flores recorded a sack resulting in a 5-yard loss for O’Dea.
The referees appeared to be less favorable to the Fighting Irish during the second quarter. Brown dashed 18 yards for a touchdown, only to have it negated by a holding penalty during the play.
Without wasting any time in this matchup, Brown secured his fourth touchdown of the evening with a 35-yard sprint to the endzone.
The game began to show signs of a possible running clock situation. Early in the second quarter, the Fighting Irish began rotating some of their reserve players into the game, but this adjustment didn’t seem to alter the game’s pace. As O’Dea maintained a commanding 35-0 lead with only a few minutes left in the half.
Working hard to continue dominating on the field, another player of the Fighting Irish extended their lead, as Andrew Tran added a 7-yard touchdown to the scoreboard just minutes before the end of the first half. However, the PAT attempt was unsuccessful, marking it the first time in the game that O’Dea failed to convert the extra point.
The second half flew by as the Ravens energy began to drop. The Fighting Irish’s Paki Crawford recorded a bone crushing sack minutes into the third quarter, as O’Dea was still giving it their all despite the huge lead that they maintained.
To cap off the night with an exclamation point, Brown scored his fifth touchdown of the game, giving O’Dea a commanding 48-0 lead with 6 minutes remaining in the third quarter. This score held steady, as both teams failed to produce any points during a scoreless fourth quarter.
With the win, the journey toward a state championship continues for Kohler and the Fighting Irish as they wait to take on their next opponent in the next round.
“They (the players) like each other, and they like to play with each other,” said Coach Kohler after the game. “I don’t want this season to end; they are a great bunch of guys.”