By Deshaun Presley
The Seattle Medium
A powerhouse homecoming matchup was shaping up in Sammamish, Washington as the (5-0) Eastside Catholic Crusaders squared off with the (5-0) O’Dea Fighting Irish. Both teams ranked #1 and #2 in Metro respectfully, looked to stamp their claim atop the league standings.
The name of the game last night for O’Dea was ground and pound with a total of 257 yards rushing on 54 attempts. Senior running back Cameron Daniels inserted himself from the outset, running with reckless abandonment between the tackles and leading to a late first quarter score by Daniels on a 4-yard power play up the gut.
Eastside Catholic got off to a sluggish start to the game, more in due to the physical, hard-nosed play of the Irish defense. The Crusaders first touchdown came late in the second quarter after a unfortunate miscue of a muffed punt for the Irish placed Eastside solidly at the Irish 11-yard line in scoring position. Eastside Catholic junior quarterback Kobe Mausau was able to connect on a 6-yard touchdown pass to junior tight end Tavarus George to bring the score to 7-6 O’Dea, after a failed field goal attempt by the Crusaders.
Relentlessly the Irish struck back before the of the half , scoring on a well designed 7-yard pass to senior wide receiver Cooper Mathers in the back of the end zone giving the Irish a 14-6 halftime lead.
As the second half got under way, O’Dea continued to dominate on both sides of the ball. The Irish rushing attack continued as Daniels led all rushers on 30 carries 131 yards, while junior quarterback Milton Hopkins, Jr. added 15 carries for 95 yards and completed 6 of 8 passes for 65 yards.
O’Dea took a commanding league into the fourth quarter and cemented their victory on a 2-yard touchdown run by Hopkins resulting in a final score of 28-6.
Pictorial Highlights of O’Dea vs Eastside Catholic
Photos by John Saunders
