By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
The O’Dea Fighting Irish celebrated Senior Night with a 48-6 victory over the West Seattle Wildcats, finishing the regular season undefeated at 9-0.
O’Dea scored 35 points in the first half behind a strong offensive performance led by junior J’Shaun Wilson, who finished the night with four rushing touchdowns. Quarterback Allias Moimoi added a 55-yard touchdown run and two touchdown passes to Kaydon Tatum, helping the Fighting Irish maintain control of the game.
West Seattle opened the game with a successful onside kick, giving the Wildcats an early opportunity to establish their offense. Carlos Patino connected with Justice Nguyen for a 9-yard completion to get West Seattle moving, followed by a 1-yard run from Patino. However, O’Dea’s defense began to tighten, forcing West Seattle backward after a loss on a bad snap. Despite a 10-yard run from Nguyen on third-and-long, the Wildcats were unable to sustain the drive and were forced to punt.
O’Dea quickly took advantage of the change in possession as Moimoi connected with Tatum for a 48-yard completion, immediately putting the Fighting Irish in scoring position. After a short run, Nino Moksivong broke through for a 19-yard gain, bringing O’Dea within striking distance of the end zone. Following an illegal procedure penalty, Wilson powered his way into the end zone on a 7-yard touchdown run. The extra point was good, giving O’Dea an early 7-0 lead with 6:48 remaining in the first quarter.
West Seattle responded with runs from Dylan Seaborn-Diaz and Nguyen, but penalties, including a holding call and delay of game, made it difficult for the Wildcats to sustain their drive. A personal foul against O’Dea helped West Seattle regain some momentum, and Nguyen connected with Coco Cicero for a 22-yard completion to move the chains. However, O’Dea’s defense held strong, stopping the Wildcats on fourth down after a series of short gains and an unsuccessful passing attempt.
O’Dea regained possession and closed out the quarter with another completion from Moimoi to Tatum for seven yards, carrying a 7-0 lead into the second quarter.
The Fighting Irish came out firing in the second quarter, with Max Speller opening the period with a 15-yard run to move O’Dea deeper into West Seattle territory. Wilson appeared to extend the lead with a 30-yard touchdown run, but the play was called back because of a holding penalty.
The setback did little to slow O’Dea’s offense. Wilson followed with a 17-yard run to bring the Fighting Irish closer to the goal line before Speller broke loose for a 21-yard gain. Wilson finished the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run, his second of the night, and the successful extra point extended O’Dea’s lead to 14-0 with 10:52 remaining in the half.
West Seattle struggled to find offensive consistency on its next possession, managing only a handful of short gains before being forced to punt. O’Dea took over and continued to move the ball, with Kaylen Moore gaining two yards and then five more on consecutive carries. Facing fourth-and-3, Moimoi delivered one of the game’s biggest plays, breaking loose for a 55-yard rushing touchdown. With another successful extra point, O’Dea increased its advantage to 21-0 with 6:34 remaining in the second quarter.
After another West Seattle possession ended in a punt, the Fighting Irish offense struck again. Moore opened the drive with a 19-yard run, followed by a 16-yard burst from Speller to put O’Dea in excellent field position. Moimoi then connected with Tatum for a 19-yard touchdown reception, pushing the score to 28-0 after the extra point with 3:48 left in the quarter.
The Wildcats finally answered with a major offensive play of their own when Kian Deeds broke through O’Dea’s defense for a 69-yard rushing touchdown. West Seattle attempted a two-point conversion but came up unsuccessful, making the score 28-6.
However, any momentum the Wildcats gained from the long touchdown was short-lived.
On O’Dea’s next possession, Wilson broke loose for a 61-yard touchdown run, his third of the night, answering West Seattle’s score with another explosive play. The extra point was good, restoring the Fighting Irish’s 35-6 lead with 2:23 remaining before halftime.
West Seattle attempted to put together one final scoring drive, picking up several yards through Deeds, who also connected with River Kuromi for a short completion. However, the Wildcats were unable to find the end zone before time expired, and O’Dea headed into halftime with a 35-6 lead.
O’Dea kicked off to begin the second half and immediately put its defense to work, forcing West Seattle into another unsuccessful possession. Deeds picked up four yards on the opening play, but a holding penalty and an incomplete pass left the Wildcats facing fourth down, forcing another punt.
Despite a holding penalty against the Fighting Irish, Wilson broke through for a 9-yard run before Moimoi connected with Tatum for a 47-yard touchdown reception. The extra-point attempt was blocked, but O’Dea extended its lead to 41-6.
West Seattle attempted to answer with a series of rushing plays from Seaborn-Diaz and Deeds, gradually moving the ball downfield. However, after offsetting penalties and an incomplete pass, the Wildcats were once again forced to punt.
O’Dea capitalized on the possession as Speller broke loose for a 17-yard run to move the Fighting Irish into West Seattle territory. Wilson then delivered another big play, racing 32 yards into the end zone for his fourth touchdown of the night. The extra point was good, extending O’Dea’s lead to 48-6 with 5:47 remaining in the third quarter.
West Seattle continued fighting despite the deficit, with Deeds completing a 4-yard pass to Ronan Faherty before the Wildcats recovered their own fumble to maintain possession. Cicero added a 1-yard run, and Deeds attempted to keep the drive alive with a 3-yard run on fourth down, but West Seattle came up short.
O’Dea took over and moved the ball with runs from Moore, who picked up seven yards before a short gain on the following play. As the third quarter came to a close, the Fighting Irish held a 48-6 lead heading into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter began with a running clock as O’Dea continued to manage the game while giving additional players opportunities to contribute. Jayden Magee opened the quarter with a 2-yard run, but the Fighting Irish were unable to convert on fourth down after a play resulted in no gain.
West Seattle took over possession and attempted to put together one final scoring drive. However, an incomplete pass from Deeds and a 4-yard run left the Wildcats facing another difficult third down. After a play resulted in no gain, West Seattle faced fourth-and-6, where Deeds attempted a pass that was intercepted by O’Dea’s Micah Thornock.
The Fighting Irish took advantage of the turnover, with Jaxon Turner picking up seven yards on his first carry before adding another four-yard gain to move the chains. Joseph Benavides-Gutierrez contributed a 1-yard run as O’Dea continued to run down the clock.
A delay-of-game penalty pushed the Fighting Irish backward, followed by a 4-yard gain on the next play. With the game winding down, O’Dea elected to kneel out the clock, sealing its 48-6 victory over West Seattle.
Wilson finished with 130 rushing yards on six carries and four touchdowns, leading an O’Dea offense that scored seven touchdowns. Moimoi completed five of seven passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns while adding a 55-yard touchdown run. Tatum finished with five receptions for 140 yards, including touchdown catches of 19 and 47 yards.
For West Seattle, Deeds provided the Wildcats’ biggest offensive highlight with his 69-yard touchdown run, finishing with 94 rushing yards on nine carries. Defensively, O’Dea held West Seattle scoreless in the second half, with Thornock recording a fourth-quarter interception.
After the game, Wilson shared how this point in the season is his favorite time of the year and said he is looking forward to the weeks ahead as the Fighting Irish prepare for the playoffs.
“In my opinion, right now is the best time of the year, it’s playoff time, win or go home,” Wilson said. “We just need to lock in, focus on the little mistakes we make, and clean it up. We need to come back next week and be ready to go.”
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Game Stats
O’Dea Fighting Irish
Passing: Allias Moimoi, 5 of 7, 140 yards, 2 TDs.
Rushing: J’Shaun Wilson, 6 carries, 130 yards, 4 TDs; Max Speller, 4 carries, 69 yards; Allias Moimoi, 1 carry, 55 yards, 1 TD; Kaylen Moore, 5 carries, 33 yards; Nino Moksivong, 1 carry, 19 yards; Jaxon Turner, 2 carries, 11 yards; Jayden Magee, 1 carry, 2 yards; Joseph Benavides-Gutierrez, 1 carry, 1 yard.
Receiving: Kaydon Tatum, 5 receptions, 140 yards, 2 TDs.
Defense: Micah Thornock, 1 interception.
West Seattle Wildcats
Passing: Kian Deeds, 5 of 11, 5 yards; Justice Nguyen, 2 of 3, 23 yards; Carlos Patino, 1 of 1, 9 yards.
Rushing: Kian Deeds, 9 carries, 94 yards, 1 TD; Justice Nguyen, 3 carries, 19 yards; Dylan Seaborn-Diaz, 6 carries, 19 yards; Carlos Patino, 2 carries, 1 yard; Coco Cicero, 1 carry, 1 yard; Mason Jones, 1 carry, 0 yards.
Receiving: Coco Cicero, 2 receptions, 23 yards; Justice Nguyen, 2 receptions, 10 yards; Ronan Faherty, 1 reception, 4 yards; River Kuromi, 1 reception, 0 yards.
