In Review: After successful season, Eastside Catholic rides 6-2 record into state playoffs

The Eastside Catholic Crusaders had a decently successful regular season, going 6-2. There are plenty of different results, ranging from massive blowouts to nail-biting games. We’ll be covering them all here, plus four players that had standout seasons this year.

Preseason: Eastside Catholic 0-20 Orange Lutheran (September 1st)

For their first game of the season, the Crusaders traveled down to California to play Orange Lutheran. They could not get anything going on offense, as they had to punt seven times and also lost a fumble in a 0-20 loss to the Lancers. Their most notable player this game was sophomore LB Wassie Lugolobi, who had 8 total tackles and 1 tackle for loss, as well as 2 passes defended.

Week 1: Ballard 0-43 Eastside Catholic (September 8th)

The Crusaders first in-conference game went quite well, as they defeated Ballard 43-0. The defense was dominating in this game, forcing six turnovers. However, their player of the game was sophomore Asa Thompson, who brought in eight catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns.

Credit: Eastside Catholic

Week 2: Bishop Blanchet 0-55 Eastside Catholic (September 14th)

Eastside continued their conference dominance with a 55-0 win over the Bears. Their most impressive player this game was senior WR Andrew Needham, who only caught two passes but brought them both in for touchdowns and 91 yards. The defense was also incredible, with 8 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, and 2 interceptions.

Week 3: Eastside Catholic 44-0 Lincoln (September 23rd)

Eastside’s third conference game was their third shutout of the season, as they blanked Lincoln in their 44-0 win. Wassie Lugolobi had a big game with 7 total tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss, as well as a pass defended.

Week 4: Eastside Catholic 7-16 O’Dea (September 29th)

The Crusaders took their first conference loss in this game to O’Dea in a low-scoring 16-7 game where senior Jason Brown Jr. ran for 178 yards and 2 touchdowns. EC’s top performer was freshman LB Liufau Loumoli, who had 8 tackles and 2 tackles for loss.

Week 5: Garfield 10-31 Eastside Catholic (October 6th)

EC got back on track with a 31-10 win over the Bulldogs. There were multiple very impressive performances in this game. On offense, they had junior RB Jeremiah “JB” Burroughs, who ran for 136 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown. On defense, senior David Lene was their star, with 7 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and a forced fumble.

Week 6: Eastside Catholic 30-14 Seattle Prep (October 13th)

The Crusaders continued to win, taking this one 30-14 against Seattle Prep. Their passing game was unmatched, highlighting senior QB Jake Tiryakioglu, who threw for 331 yards and 2 TDs, and senior Tyson Weaver, who caught 4 passes for 171 yards and 1 touchdown.

Week 7: Eastside Catholic 42-0 Rainier Beach (October 20th)

In Eastside’s final regular-season game, they took down the Vikings with a final score of 42-0. Their offense did not have to do very much, as they only had 234 total yards. EC’s best player was Wassie Lugolobi, who had 3 total tackles, 2 tackles for loss of yard, a pass defended, and a fumble recovery.

Credit: Eastside Catholic

PLAYERS OF THE YEAR

Player Of the Year 1: Asa Thompson

Thompson had a fabulous year as a wide receiver, bringing in 30 passes for 486 yards and 8 touchdowns, all of which led Eastside Catholic in statistical categories. Because he is a sophomore, he still has two more years to build on this performance and become an even better receiver in the coming seasons.

Player Of the Year 2: Jake Tiryakioglu

The senior Crusader QB had a strong performance in his first and only year as a starter, going 76/112 (67.8%) with 1361 yards, and 15 TDs to only 3 interceptions. In the playoffs, it will be incredibly important that he continues to play like this if the Crusaders are to win State.

Player of the Year 3: Wassie Lugolobi

Lugolobi, the sophomore LB, had a fantastic season in his first year as a starter. He had 48 total tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 7 passes defended, and a fumble recovery. In all of these categories, he was first on the team, except for tackles, where he was second, and fumble recoveries, where he was tied for third.

Player of the Year 4: David Lene

Lene, the senior middle LB for the Crusaders, had a great season, particularly in pass coverage, as he had a team-leading 2 interceptions and 2 passes defended. Additionally, he forced a fumble, had 32 total tackles, and had 1.5 tackles for loss. Additionally, he did this in only 6 games played, so if he had played all 8 regular-season games, he could have had an even better season. Regardless, he still had an incredible final season for Eastside.