SEATTLE — Last year, Eastside Catholic ended Meadowdale’s season in dramatic fashion, coming up with an interception on the Mavericks’ final offensive possession to preserve a 21-16 victory in the 3A state quarterfinals.
Friday, the Crusaders ended the Mavs’ season again, only there was nothing dramatic about this victory. Eastside Catholic scored on its first five possessions — and six of its first seven — in a dominating 42-14 win in the first round of the 3A state playoffs.
“We made some mistakes and they did some really good things offensively,” Meadowdale head coach Mike Don said. “That’s a big, strong football team. I thought they set the tone. They were the better team tonight.”
Eastside Catholic advances to play Lincoln, who upset O’Dea on Friday, in next weekend’s quarterfinals.
After receiving the opening kickoff, the Crusaders went 89 yards in eight plays capped off by a 5-yard touchdown pass from junior Harley Kirsch to sophomore Hunter Bryant.
It was just the start of a big day for Kirsch, who threw three touchdowns in the first half.
The Mavericks’ defense kept them in last year’s game against Eastside Catholic. This time, the Crusaders’ defense prevented the Mavericks from keeping it close. Meadowdale ran just 16 offensive plays in the first half and didn’t pick up a first down until the final play of the second quarter.
“They were really good defensively and they were really good up front, but the other part of that is we had two turnovers on the first play of a series,” Don said. “We just turned the ball over like crazy. One the ball fell out of a hand and the other we underthrew a route. We couldn’t get things going.”
While Meadowdale’s offense struggled, Eastside Catholic’s couldn’t be stopped.
The Crusaders went 89 yards for a second time on their second possession, and again the drive was capped by a 5-yard touchdown from Kirsch. This time the pass went to junior Matt Laris. The Crusaders tried a two-point conversion, but came up short and settled for a 13-0 lead.
Meadowdale punted again on its next possession, and after the Mavericks were flagged for fair-catch interference, the Crusaders started their next possession on the Meadowdale 41-yard line. With a short field in front of them, the Crusaders needed just five plays to get into the end zone. Junior running back Brandon Wellington scored the game’s first rushing touchdown on a 3-yard run. The Crusaders went for two and converted to expand their lead to 21-0.
Meadowdale’s disastrous first half got worse on its very next offensive play. Junior quarterback Caleb Tingstad attempted a pass that slipped out of his hands and Eastside Catholic quickly pounced on the ball. Four plays later, Kirsch connected with Laris for a second touchdown pass, this time from 33 yards out, to give Eastside Catholic a 28-0 lead. Laris had six catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.
Kirsch finished the first half 15-for-23 for 238 yards and three touchdowns. He completed both passes he threw in the second half to finish 17-for-25 for 253 yards.
Wellington added another 3-yard touchdown run before halftime. He finished the first half with 11 carries for 46 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior fullback Dominique Fetui scored on a 2-yard run on the Crusaders’ first possession of the second half to give them a 42-0 lead, which enacted a running clock.
Meadowdale had trouble getting the ball to its most explosive weapon, senior Malik Braxton. Braxton, one of the leading receivers in the Wesco 3A South, didn’t have a catch and rushed the ball one time, losing a yard in the process.
Still, Braxton found a way to impact the game in the second half. He scored on a 65-yard fumble recovery and an 80-yard punt return.
“He’s been awesome,” Don said. “He’s an explosive kid. We’re really going to miss having him around. … You can’t replace a kid like that, you’re just going to try to have to put together a team and do the best you can.”
Meadowdale’s three losses this season came to Lake Stevens, Marysville Pilchuck and now the Crusaders. All three teams have been ranked in the top 10 throughout the season.
“They have nothing to hang their heads about,” Don said of his players. “We lost to three really good football teams this year. It’s not like we played anybody bad. We beat some good teams and we lost to the number two, four and six teams in the state in different classifications. Our kids should be proud of themselves.”
At Seattle Memorial Stadium
Meadowdale 0 0 7 7 — 14
Eastside Catholic 13 22 7 0 — 42
EC–Hunter Bryant 5 pass from Harley Kirsch (Juan Sacchi kick)
EC–Matt Laris 5 pass from Kirsch (pass failed)
EC–Brandon Wellington 3 run (Matt Kvech run)
EC–Laris 33 pass from Kirsch (Sacchi kick)
EC–Wellington 3 run (Sacchi kick)
EC–Dominique Fetui 2 run (Sacchi kick)
M–Malik Braxton 65 fumble recovery (Brett Schafer kick)
M–Braxton 80 punt return (Schafer kick)
Records–Meadowdale 8-3, Eastside Catholic 10-1.
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