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Tuesday, February 18, 2025

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O’Dea – Running Wild

O’Dea running back Henry Muench picks up some tough yards against Peninsula in the Irish’s 28-0 vicory over the Seahawks last Friday. Photo/John Saunders.

By Macerio Clark
The Seattle Medium

Last Friday, The O’Dea Fighting Irish started their WIAA 3A state title defense with a 28-0 victory over the Peninsula Seahawks. The Irish, led by running backs Henry Muench and Mark Tafia, showed their offensive might as they scored on their first three possessions.

Muench, a junior at O’Dea, finished the game with 7 rushes for 86 yards, including a game long 35-yard run, to lead all rushers. Tafia, a senior running back, carried the ball 15 times for 66 yards and one touchdown.

However, with the O’Dea running game being key to Friday’s victory, O’Dea Head Coach Monte Kohler believes the run game would not have been established without the strong play of the offensive line.

“It all starts up front with our big kids, our offensive lineman they just came ready to play,” said Kohler after the game.

Having hours of work put into the offseason the Fighting Irish look to rely on their running game as the season progresses. Both Muench and Tafia combined for 152 of team’s 265 rushing yards in Friday’s victory over Peninsula.

Coming into the season, there were questions about how O’Dea would replace running back Jamyn Patu, who graduated and now plays for the University of Washington Huskies. Patu, the state’s second leading rusher in the 3A division last season, led the Fighting Irish to a 3A WIAA State Championship, their first state championship since 1995. Patu averaged 167.8 yards per game, including a 238-yard performance in the championship game.

Muench and Tafia led O’Dea last season in yards per carry with Muench averaging 20.7 yards, and Tafia averaging 9.8 yards, respectively. This season both running backs look to improve from the previous season.

Kohler is pleased with the depth the Fighting Irish have in the backfield, and the different skills that each running back brings to O’Dea’s offense.

I hope that Mark (Tafia), Henry (Muench), Cameron (Daniels), Tama (Ma’alona) and Noah (Miles) are able to serve the offense. Each of our running backs have a different set of skills and we as coaches will try to utilize those skills throughout the course of the season,” says Kohler.

O’Dea will play the Bethel Braves at 7:45 p.m. this Fri., Sept. 7 at Memorial Stadium.