Game Recap below

The Mighty have Fallen; Eastside Catholic Ends Bellevue’s Reign
By Steven Dion

Since 2001, Butch Goncharoff has led Bellevue to 11 of 13 state championships including the previous six consecutive titles. Defeating the Wolverines has taken truly special teams in their era of dominance. Eastside Catholic coach Jeremy Thielbahr had his sights set on becoming the next challenger to the 3A crown and had his fair share of growing pains in the process including back-to-back defeats by Bellevue in the 2012 and 2013 championship games.

The Crusaders and Wolverines steamrolled through their seasons to find themselves playing December football once again. The first two title games these teams played were blowouts in the favor of Bellevue. Everyone at the Tacoma Dome witnessed another lopsided result, but this had a different tune.

Per usual, the Wolverines scored a touchdown on their opening drive, a 5 yard Sam Richmond touchdown run. Playing from behind is never a good way to start against a team approaching its 68th consecutive victory. The Crusaders managed to strike back with a 9 yard touchdown scamper by Brandon Wellington who would score twice more in the contest. Less than a minute later, Isaiah Gilchrist ran a reverse 56 yards to the house to regain the lead. The Wolverines botched the extra point which appeared to give EC a dose of confidence after conceding a big scoring play. The half would close with several read option runs by Crusader quarterback Harley Kirsch which moved the chains and set up a 6 yard strike to Hunter Bryant to give the underdogs a halftime lead.

Bellevue’s commitment to the run was an unsuccessful endeavor in the second half as the Eastside defensive line grew stronger and more aggressive. Justus Rogers had three pass attempts in the game, none of which were completed. Midway through the third, Kirsch found Devon Arbis-Jackson on a short pass which he carried several defenders with him to the goal line for the score. Leading 21-13, the possibility of an upset was becoming a reality. The Wolverines ineptitude on offense was alarming as they ran only 25 offensive plays to EC’s 83 and did not convert a single third or fourth down. The total yard figures were 158 to 414 in favor of the Crusaders.

Early in the fourth quarter Brandon Wellington put Eastside up by two scores on a 1 yard dive play. On the ensuing kickoff, EC recovered the football. Eleven plays later, Wellington was in the end zone again to ice the game. There was 4:18 left on the clock at this point, but leading 35-13, Eastside’s sideline was starting to realize what they had accomplished. Bellevue’s offense was stalled one final time and ECHS was able to run down the clock at their discretion.

When the scoreboard read 0:00, waves of joy, shock, and disappointment were felt throughout the Tacoma Dome as Eastside Catholic defeated Bellevue in convincing fashion. Coach Goncharoff said the better team won the game and he was concerned going into the game about being undersized at the line. Winning coach Jeremy Thielbahr said they had to create an entirely new offensive scheme which Bellevue hadn’t seen them do before. The 3A crown is taking a short trip east to the Issaquah plateau for a year, and maybe more.

Top Performers:
Eastside Catholic
Harley Kirsch-20/22, 188 passing yards and 2TD, 94 rushing yards
Brandon Wellington-33 rushes, 110 yards, 3 touchdowns