O'Dea topples Eastside Catholic, 16-7, in 3A Metro showdown, 3 takeaways
WEST SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - Jason Brown Jr. was slowed at times, but not stopped.
Brown Jr., the senior running back, provided the big blows as third-ranked O’Dea knocked off top-ranked Eastside Catholic, 16-7, in a Metro League game - one that usually decides league dominance - on Friday night at West Seattle Stadium.
Brown Jr. finished with 185 yards rushing and two touchdowns as the Irish (5-0 overall, 4-0 league) took control of Metro’s Mountain Division by breaking a three-game losing streak to the Crusaders (3-2, 3-1).
Brown Jr. put O’Dea on top 7-0 with a 5-yard shake-and-bake touchdown run over the left side with 3:04 remaining in the first quarter. The Irish scored on the strength of Quinn White's 30-yard run one play earlier.
Then, on his first touch of the second half, Brown Jr. was electric. Brown Jr. cut at the line of scrimmage and then jetted untouched 61 yards up the middle for a touchdown to give the Irish a 13-0 cushion at the 9:28 mark of the third quarter.
Asa Thompson’s 56-yard touchdown catch and run on a pass from Jake Tiryakioglu pulled Eastside Catholic within 13-7 with 1:39 showing in the third quarter.
But Owen Livingston hiked the Irish’s lead to 16-7 with a 35-yard field goal with 5:27 to go - and the O’Dea defense did the rest.
Eastside Catholic beat rival O’Dea, 35-28, in double overtime in last season’s WIAA semifinals to reach the Class 3A title game for the fifth time in the past eight seasons.
The winner of this matchup has usually gone on to play in the state championship game with one or both teams reaching the 3A state championship 10 of the previous 11 seasons. Both teams have four state-title trophies in the school’s trophy case.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
WHAT CAN JASON BROWN JR DO FOR YOU?
The yards and the wins are always hard earned for O’Dea and Brown during his four-year career. Brown delivered a breakout game and just his second win in six tries against Eastside Catholic.
Brown and the Irish had lost four of the past five meetings to the Crusaders. No more, said Brown.
"This (rivalry_ just brings excitement to the whole team, the whole program and really the whole school,” said Brown, who ran 24 times for his 185 yards with a 61-yard touchdown burst and a 55-yard breakaway as the highlights. "This is the rivalry that spreads across all of our sports and things like that. When we are able to come out and compete and even win a big game like this, it’s the most amazing feeling ever.
"I can only imagine school on Monday. This is really my first win over them if you guys don’t count the spring (2020 COVID delayed game on April 9, 2021)."
O’Dea still leads the al-time series, 22-15.
IRISH WINNING DESPITE KEY INJURIES
Key starters have been missing with injuries a good portion of the season, but O’Dea keeps winning.
Bulldozing offensive lineman Isendre “Papa” Ahfua, a Texas A&M commit, has been out part of the season along with starting quarterback Luke D’Anna, who has missed the entire season so far.
The 6-foot-5, 300-pound Ahfua returned on a limited basis on Friday, nursing a knee injury, and D’Anna continued to be in street clothes with a walking boot on his broken left foot.
“(Ahfua) didn’t play last week and he was limited tonight,” O’Dea coach Monte Kohler said. “So, hopefully he’s getting better. He just played on offense and probably a third of the snaps.
“I think we’ll get (D’Anna) back, maybe for the Garfield game (in Week 8). Maybe the Ballard game (in Week 7).”
PAKI PACKS DEFENSIVE PUNCH
The difference maker on defense for the Irish on Friday was clearly linebacker/lineman Paki Crawford.
Crawford, a 6-foot-1, 220-pound junior, was everywhere and was in on four sacks of EC quarterback Jake Tiryakioglu and numerous other pressures.
"Paki Crawford … special player," said teammate Brown. "He singlehandedly won us this game defensively. We have guys like that, that play that well every Friday night. This (game_ is going to tell us if we have the makings to be a state-championship caliber team."
(Featured photo by Vince Miller)
-- Matt Massey | @sblivewa
