Football: O’Dea blanks Eastside Catholic in a Metro League rivalry game

In a 20-0 victory, The O’Dea Fighting Irish Defense shut out an Eastside Catholic Crusaders that was left without multiple key players who exited the game due to injury.

Two of the 3A Metro League’s winningest programs faced off in a highly anticipated matchup last Friday night. In O’Dea Coach Kohler’s 40th season, he prepared his team to win the game as their first Metro shutout since 2021.

Kohler’s defense was the focal point of the game, led by DE duo David Schwerzel and Fametiau Siale, who both hold 10+ Division 1 offers to schools that include, but aren’t limited to UW, Michigan and Florida State. The O’Dea defense only gave up 56 total yards and forced 3 turnovers from the Crusader offense.

After a slow start offensively, Sage Salopek of the Fighting Irish put the first points on the board in a 41-yard punt return late in the first half. Salopek was helped later by Irish running back Uriah Stringfield, who finished with a total of 89 yards, and O’Dea quarterback Hutton Leverett, who scored on a quarter back sneak in the second half that put the Irish up 14-0.

The Crusaders struggled to gain momentum until senior linebacker, Carson McKelheer, intercepted the ball setting his team up in Irish territory near the 15-yard line.

The O’Dea defensive line held tight to Eastside’s star running back, Jeremiah Burroughs, and kept the Crusader offense at bay. On fourth down, EC opted for a quarterback sneak with Isaac Corey, but the senior quarterback couldn’t find a hole either, and O’Dea kept the home team out of the endzone for a tone-setting, first-half stop.

After receiving medical attention at halftime, Corey returned to the game in the second half and threw an impressive 33-yard touchdown pass to Robert Ingram, but the play got called back on a holding call, and the EC scoring drought continued.

To add to the home team’s woes, star lineman and Idaho Vandal commit, Jojo Matautia, left the field suffering an injury to the ankle. Fellow Vandal commit Cody Thumlert also came up hurt at the end of the 3rd quarter, when the defensive end pulled an oblique and was forced to leave the game.

After the Crusader’s first loss of the season, they will be looking to bounce back in their upcoming game this Thursday against the Ballard Beavers before an anticipated match up against Roosevelt on October 11th. The undefeated Irish look to continue their winning streak against Bishop Blanchet this Friday.