Eastside Catholic Runs a Crusade Against the Abes

Eastside Catholic Runs a Crusade Against the Abes
By Colin Caruso

On a crisp November evening in Sammamish, the Eastside Catholic Crusaders faced off against the Lincoln Abes in the 3A playoffs round of 32. This was a tough first round playoff matchup, with both teams ranked in the top 10 in the state in 3A. Eastside Catholic jumped out to a 21-0 lead early, capitalizing on two Abe turnovers and showing great success in both running and throwing the football. Lincoln needed a first half score and put together a great 2-minute drill drive at the end of the first half, capped off by a 2 yard TD run from sophomore quarterback Jordan Kitna with just 46 seconds remaining in the half. On the ensuing kickoff, Lincoln gave up a 60 yard return and a three play touchdown drive to the Crusaders in just 33 seconds, a brutal blow to the Abes. Eastside Catholic took a comfortable 28-7 lead into halftime.

Coming out of the locker room at half Lincoln needed another quick score to stay in the ballgame and got it on a beautiful pass and catch from Kitna to senior Rayshaun Miller. But again the Crusaders responded, this time a touchdown run from sophomore workhorse back Brandon Wellington, his second touchdown of the game. Both teams added another score before the contest was over, and the Crusaders topped the Abes by a final of 41-21. Eastside Catholic’s next contest will be Marysville-Pilchuck in the round of 16 in Marysville.

Top Performers:

Lincoln
Jordan Kitna – TD pass of 80 yards and TD run of 2 yards

Eastside Catholic
Harley Kirsch – 3 TD passes of 20 yards, 15 yards, and 22 yards
Brandon Wellington – 2 TD runs of 4 yards and 2 yards