With eyes on a Metro League title, No. 3 Eastside Catholic outlasts No. 2 O'Dea in thriller
SAMMAMISH, Wash. - Brady McKelheer is glad his Eastside Catholic football team found another gear.
After almost three quarters of a defensive struggle, the Crusaders won the race to the finish with Metro League rival O’Dea.
McKelheer, a senior quarterback, delivered the winning strike to junior receiver Jayden Reyes for the game-winning 41-yard touchdown with 58 seconds to go as No. 3 Eastside Catholic outlasted the second-ranked Fighting Irish, 24-17, on Friday night in a 3A Metro League Mountain Division firecracker.
After a 3-3 halftime tie, the two teams combined to score 35 points over the last 14 minutes, 36 seconds, and meant a sizzling finish. The Crusaders (5-0 overall, 4-0 Metro) found a way to score 21 of those final 35 in a frantic finish that for now puts them as the team to beat in Metro.
“The first half was a little rough, but our team bounced back," said McKelheer, who finished with 18-of-32 passing accuracy for 294 yards and two touchdowns after throwing two interceptions in the first half. “(On the winning play) I saw the (line)backer and my eyes were kind of framed outside and I moved him with my eyes and it opened up a look and Jayden just took it for six.”
O’Dea went in front 17-16 with 1:40 to go in the game when tight end Tucker Ashcraft went high to snare a 6-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Luke D’anna. Owen Livingston made the go-ahead PAT kick.
After the ensuing kickoff, Eastside Catholic faced 78 yards for the winning touchdown. McKelheer engineered a five-play, 78-yard scoring drive that took just 38 seconds and was capped with Reyes’ 41-yard catch-and-run touchdown.
On the final march, McKelheer, a second-year starter, hit on three of his four passes for 54 yards and scrambled once for 18 yards.
"I’ll say this about our kids … they always think they have a puncher’s chance," Eastside Catholic coach Dominic Daste said. “I’ve said this before, but nobody’s harder on No. 10 (McKelheer) than me, and he struggled in the first half. But for him to come out in the second half and play his butt off, I’m really proud of him.”
Eastside Catholic has now won six of the past eight meetings with O’Dea (4-1, 3-1) during the last six seasons of powerhouse matchups. The two teams have four state titles each and have combined to win five of the last seven 3A crowns.
A missed extra point nearly cost Eastside Catholic after it went ahead 16-10 on a 58-yard scoring strike from McKelheer to freshman Asa Thompson with 8:37 remaining in the game.
