theFinalScore.TV
3A State Football Rankings Week 7

Posted on October 25, 2014 by Randall Novak

theFinalScore.TV
3A State Football Rankings
By Steven Dion

The question we are asked each week is simply, who can defeat Bellevue? Bellevue continues to be the team everyone is looking to beat. We have broken down the top 10 Washington State 3A Classification Teams for you.

1) Bellevue 6-0, 4-0 League
It is no surprise to see the Wolverines perched at the number one spot in the rankings. Goncharoff continues to put an elite high school football team under the Friday night lights every week.

2) Eastside Catholic 6-1, 4-0 League
The victory over O’Dea last Friday earns the Crusaders the number two ranking. Thielbahr has the pieces to bring his team to the state championship game for the third straight year.

3) O’Dea 6-1, 3-1 League
The Fighting Irish roster is loaded, so the loss to Eastside Catholic will certainly not slow down Kohler’s march back to the Tacoma Dome.

4) Lincoln 7-0, 5-0 League
The Abes are averaging 56 points per game including a 91 point effort. Jon Kitna’s team may not have had any true tests yet, but they will get a chance to go toe-to-toe with the state’s best.

5) Marysville-Pilchuck 6-1, 4-0 League
Losing to O’Dea without your star running back doesn’t mean much when you take down a top 10 team in 4A (Lake Stevens) and beat everyone else by at least 27 points.

6) Peninsula 6-1, 5-0 League
After a thrilling victory over Auburn-Mountainview last week, the Seahawks have vaulted up to six on the rankings. The decisive win over Lakes was nice, and the lone loss is a 30-29 grinder to Gig Harbor.

7) Auburn-Mountainview 6-1, 4-1 League
Someone had to win the back-and-forth classic between the Lions and Peninsula. The margin was so thin that AMHS sits right under the Hawks in the rankings as they have proven their strength thus far.

8) Meadowdale 6-1, 5-0 League
It is fitting that the dark horse in the rankings are the Mavericks. They are undefeated in competitive league play and the one loss on the record was against Lake Stevens by a touchdown on the road.

9) Kennedy Catholic 7-0, 5-0 League
An undefeated record this late in the season is impressive even considering a strength of schedule that may be lacking. Until they even sniff a loss, the Lancers keep earning top ten consideration.

10) Oak Harbor 5-1, 4-0 League
The Wildcats are yet to face their strongest opponent of the year as Marysville-Pilchuck makes a visit, but they have accomplished enough this year to grab a top ten nod.

Eastside Catholic Fends Off Fighting Irish

Posted on October 18, 2014 by colincarusoZUMA

Friday	Oct. 17th	2014	3A	Boys	Football
West Seattle Stadium	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
Eastside Catholic	13	6	7	0	26
O'Dea	10	0	7	3	20

Game Recap below

Eastside Catholic Fends Off Fighting Irish
By Colin Caruso

A subtle drizzle amplified the setting of this great matchup between two of our state’s finest in 3A, the Eastside Catholic Crusaders travelling to West Seattle to face the O’Dea Fighting Irish. The last competition between these two stellar programs took place in the Tacoma Dome, with a trip to the State finals on the line. Eastside Catholic took that contest 28-14, and O’Dea’s seniors came into this one looking to avenge that State semi-final loss.

Scoring started early in the light rain, with a forced fumble on the second play from scrimmage by O’Dea senior Garrett Granlund. The ball fell into the hands of the fastest player on the field, Myles Gaskin, for an easy touchdown run and a 7-0 O’Dea lead just 35 seconds into the game. O’Dea would add just one more touchdown before the night ended.

Eastside Catholic responded on their next drive. Addison Hull, Eastside’s non-featured back ran right through the middle of O’Dea’s defense for 39 yards and a score to tie the game at seven. The scoring continued in the first, with a field goal from the Irish and another Eastside Catholic rushing touchdown, putting the Crusaders up 13-10.

The story in this game was the defense of the Crusaders. O’Dea would only total 10 points in quarters 2-4. Their touchdown came on an 88-yard run from Gaskin, but outside of that score, the Crusaders in white played tenacious defense. Great tackling, shedding blocks, and constant pressure gave O’Dea fits in their offensive backfield.

While the Crusader defense continued its exemplary play, their offense was not in full sync. Quarterback Harley Kirsch missed a number of open receivers, and seemingly when he threw a great ball, the receivers would drop his passes. The rushing game, however, continued to perform. Dominique Fetui added a score in the second, and Hull again in the third, putting the game just out of reach for the Irish.

This game was effectively the Metro-Mountain championship game. If both of these teams maintain their superior play, which I expect they will, we will see them late into November yet again.

Top Performers:
Eastside Catholic
Brandon Wellington – 13 carries for 120 yards and 1TD

O’Dea
Myles Gaskin – 25 carries for 189 yards and 1TD, fumble recovery for TD, defensive INT

Irish Prove Too Much for
Joyner-Less Pilchuck

Posted on September 20, 2014 by Randall Novak

Friday	Sept. 19th	2014	3A	Boys	Football
West Seattle Stadium	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
Marysville-Pilchuck	3	0	0	7	10
O'Dea	7	6	21	0	34

Game Recap below

Irish Prove Too Much for Joyner-Less Pilchuck
By Steven Dion

Week three of the high school football season featured a non-league matchup of top dawgs in 3A O’Dea of the Metro League and Marysville-Pilchuck of Wesco. Both teams were capable to running the table in league play, but this would put a blemish on the record of one of the teams in this game. The Tomahawks would be without their elite playmaker on both sides of the ball in Austin Joyner. M-P had their work cut out for them if they were to defeat the powerhouse O’Dea.

The Tomahawks would draw first blood as an errant snap by O’Dea resulted in a turnover and eventually a 39 yard field goal by Sebastian Navarro. This lead would not last long as explosive tailback Myles Gaskin broke off an electrifying 79-yard scamper for six. Davarea Proctor also found himself in the endzone before the first half concluded on a 8 yard run. The Irish brought a 13-3 lead into the locker room.

Gaskin broke the game wide open in the third quarter as 19 and 56 yard rushing touchdowns in addition to a 46 yard punt return score put the game out of reach for Marysville-Pilchuck. The running game of the Tomahawks held their own as a Killian Page score gave the Tomahawks their first touchdown and the final points of the game. O’Dea moves to 3-0 with the 34-10 victory.

Top Performers:
O’Dea
Myles Gaskin- 4 TD’s 3 rush (19, 56, 79) 1 punt return (46)

O’Dea Routs Mariner in
Memorial Classic

Posted on September 13, 2014 by Randall Novak

Saturday	Sept. 12th	2014	3A	Boys	Football
Memorial Stadium	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
O'Dea	14	21	0	0	35
Mariner	0	0	0	7	7

Game Recap below

O’Dea Routs Mariner in Memorial Classic

By Steven Dion

Quantity does not always ensure quality, but when it comes to O’Dea football both are plentiful. The Irish field a roster the size of many colleges and talent is mixed in across the board. Tonight they would square off against the Marauders of Mariner High School who yield a much smaller team. O’Dea would be the clear favorites, but Mariner played tough despite a lopsided score.

The Marauders had a successful opening drive that brought them into Irish territory, but stalled from the swarming army of red and yellow. After punting the ball away, O’Dea got to work and asserted their dominance. Myles Gaskin broke free for a 16 yard score and the floodgates opened. Mariner was not able to respond and the Irish proceeded to put seal up a victory early. Gaskin wound up with three touchdowns for the game and 125 yards. Dylan Ledbetter had a strong defensive game, spending most of the night in the Mariner backfield. The Marauders battled throughout and punched in a touchdown in the fourth quarter. O’Dea picks up a 35-7 win.

Top Performers:
O’Dea
Dylan Ledbetter- Made Several stops in the back field
Mikel Owes- 4 Catches 93 Yards 2 TD’s
Myles Gaskin- 4 rushes 125 Yards 3 TD’s

Eastside Catholic Advances to 3A State Final for Second Year in a Row

Posted on November 30, 2013 by colincarusoZUMA

varsity-football-live-webarticle2

Friday	Nov 29th	2013	3A	Boys	Football
Tacoma Dome	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
Eastside Catholic	7	14	7	0	28
O'Dea	0	7	0	7	14

See game recap below

Eastside Catholic Advances to 3A State Final for Second Year in a Row
By Colin Caruso

In their second matchup of the season, the Eastside Catholic Crusaders were looking to avenge their only conference loss of the season in this state semifinal matchup against the powerhouse O’Dea Fighting Irish. After a spectacular interception by Eastside linebacker/running back Brandon Wellington, the Crusaders struck first with a 3 yard pass from Harley Kirsch to Matt Laris to take a 7-0 lead. O’Dea answered with a 61 yard run from star running back Myles Gaskin to tie the contest at seven.

After an injury to workhorse running back Brandon Wellington early in the second quarter, Eastside turned to their aerial attack and connected on a 64 yard pass from Kirsch to Colin Macilvennie to take a 14-7 lead. O’Dea put together a great drive after the Eastside score, but quarterback Pierre LeDorze was intercepted in the end zone by Wellington, his second on the day, who came back from injury to help the Crusader defense. That interception led to an 80 yard drive from the Crusaders, capped off by another Kirsch touchdown pass to Colin Boit with just 21 seconds left in the half. Eastside Catholic took a commanding 21-7 lead into halftime.

O’Dea received in the second half but was forced to punt after a good defensive stand from Eastside Catholic. The Crusaders then put together another long drive, this time 90 yards, capped off by a 22 yard run from Wellington to place a commanding 28-7 lead on the Irish. After the teams exchanged punts, O’Dea started to drive down the field but was halted after a fumble on the exchange between LeDorze and his fullback Jack Flor. Eastside recovered but was forced to punt back to the Irish just before the end of the third quarter.

O’Dea capitalized quickly in the fourth with a much needed score, a beautiful LeDorze pass for 41 yards to Bobiono Sims to make it a two score game, 28-14. But the Irish couldn’t put together another solid drive; the Crusader defense was stifling, filling gaps and relentlessly pursuing the football. Eastside Catholic closed the game with a 28-14 victory and will play next weekend in the Tacoma Dome for the 3A state championship.

Top Performers:
Eastside Catholic
Harley Kirsch – 19/31 for 294 yards and 3TD
Brandon Wellington – 14 carries for 66 yards, 1TD, 2 defensive interceptions

O’Dea
Myles Gaskin – 20 for 134 yards TD