HS Football: 3A O'Dea bulldozes to historic win over defending Champs Bellevue

12/7/2024

O’Dea 38, Bellevue 15

(Seattle, WA) Sometimes a team is destined. If this season played out like O’Dea fans wanted they would be 12-0 entering this game. To accomplish this the Fighting Irish would have to get through the always difficult Metro League and notching wins against Graham-Kapowsin, Eastside Catholic, and Roosevelt. In the postseason, O’Dea had to hold off a determined Mt Tahoma team in the quarterfinals 42-21.

The big challenge would be in the semifinals when they battled Eastside Catholic for the 2nd time of the year. The Irish came into that game off their 20-0 shutout earlier in the season. But that is not the game that played out at Memorial Stadium.

Eastside Catholic had a 14-9 lead with less than a minute to play when a miracle hail mary was completed and the come-from-behind win of 17-14 pushed the Irish to the Championship game and a shot at destiny.

Not only was the 5th State Championship on the line so was win #394 for Coach Monte Kohler. Kohler was 1 game away from tying the all-time winningest coach in state history, Sid Otton. Otton retired in 2016 after 49 years as a head coach with stops in Coupeville, ,Colfax and then the majority of his career in Tumwater.

Through the semifinals the perfect season was lined up and all that stood between them and a historic season was defending Champion and #1 seed Bellevue who had also won it in 2021 under Coach Michael Kneip. The Wolverines had come to the big game with a pretty impressive resume as well. The Wolverines notched some big wins at Lake Stevens, Bothell and Eastlake along with running the KINGCO table.

In the 1st half Bellevue struck 1st when Bryce Smith surged into the endzone from the 1 completing a 7 play 59-yard drive and Nick Matty added the PAT to go up 7-0.

O’Dea then drew a line in the sand as the game was already exceptionally physical but it would be the Irish who got on a roll. The Irish scored on the final play of the 1st quarter from the 7 yard line. There was a bit of contoversy on that play as the time clock ran out and the quarter should have been blown dead prior to the play being run. There is no horn at Husky Stadium and none of the officials saw the clock go to zero. It was several seconds before the snap of the ball and then QB Hutton Leverett scrambled in for the score, Owen Livingston added the PAT and it was tied 7-7 heading into the 2nd quarter.

The two teams battled back and forth throughout the 2nd quarter with neither team breaking through until the final possession. O’Dea tookover on their own 30 and drove the length of the field in 8 plays with Malik Dawson hauling in a 20 yard touchdown pass from Leverett, the PAT was good and O’Dea went to the break with a 14-7 lead.

The 2nd half was all O’Dea and running back Uriah Stringfield took control and led the Irish ofensive outburst with a 63 yard TD run early in the 3rd to go up 21-7. Stringfield then caught a 24 yard scoring pass from Leverett with a little less than 2:0o to play in the 3rd and pushed the lead to 28-7. The 1st play in the 4th quarter O’Dea added to their lead when Livingston drilled a 41 yard field goal upping the lead to 24 points, 31-7.

Bellevue rallied for their 2nd score of the game when Max Jones ran it in from the 6 with 7:07 to play. They cut it to a 2 score game when Jones ran in the 2 point conversion to make it 31-15.

The Irish then iced the game and it was Stringfield again who busted off a 43 yard run to paydirt with 2:32 to play in the game pushing the lead back to 38-15.

The team of destiny was then stamped into history. Coach Monte Kohler overcome with emotion was talking all about the team and his players but scripting the win and season couldn’t have been more Hollywood. There will be time for the reality of this win to sink in but how this season played out and the performance by O’Dea which we would have to say was likely their best game of the year couldn’t have been more dramatic and meaningful for this team and the long history of O’Dea football.

Our Thorbeckes MVP went to sophomore Uriah Stringfield who finished with 25 carries and 170 yards with 2 touchdowns plus 2 catches for 53 yards and a touchdown.

For a complete look at the full box score or completed bracket click links below along with a link to the full broadcast on the NFHS Network.

Link to Final 3A Bracket

Link to full Box Score

Link to full game broadcast on the NFHS Network (subscription required)