Eastside Catholic capitalizes on O’Dea fumbles to win

On Friday night, the Eastside Catholic Crusaders defeated the O’Dea Fighting Irish  24-14 in a back-and-forth duel by capitalizing on a pair of O’Dea fumbles for the win.

In the first quarter, the Crusaders took the early lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by Mason Uribe. The rest of the quarter remained a stalemate, with neither team adding to the board.

Taking advantage of a second quarter fumble by the Fighting Irish, Eastside Catholic’s Dishawn Misa returned the ball for a 21-yard touchdown, giving the Crusaders a more comfortable lead. Jason Brown, one of the top running backs in the state as a sophomore, got O’Dea back in the fight with a 46-yard touchdown, reducing the Crusaders’ lead to 14-7 by half time.

The Fighting Irish entered the field at the start of the third quarter ready to push back. O’Dea defensive back Kyan McDonald added a second touchdown to tie the score at 14 late in the quarter. It was anybody’s game.

Crusader Samuel Burroughs scooped up a second fumble by O’Dea quarterback John Kohler for an 8-yard touchdown run to give Eastside Catholic a 21-14 lead in the fourth quarter.

Knowing the Fighting Irish could tie it up again, the Crusaders were not taking chances. They fought to get down field into field goal range, which allowed Adam Jacobs to kick a 29-yard field goal that gave Eastside Catholic a more comfortable lead. With O’Dea running out of time and unable to catch up in the last few minutes, Eastside Catholic wrapped it up with a 24-14 final score.

The Eastside Catholic Crusaders (4-1) will face the Rainier Beach Vikings (2-1) on Friday, October 15 at home at 7:00 p.m.