By Logan Shea
SEATTLE--09/13/2023
SEATTLE- The Fighting Irish delivered a commanding victory on Friday as they stormed into the Bears' home field and left with a resounding blowout win.
Senior running back Jason Brown emerged as the star of the game, turning in a remarkable performance. Brown rushed for over 200 yards and scored four touchdowns on just nine carries, propelling the Irish to a 51-21 victory over Blanchet.
Last Friday's matchup marked O'Dea's first league game, and they faced off against fellow private school Bishop Blanchet. Blanchet came into the game with a strong showing against Redmond, while the Irish had an imperfect win against Union. Despite O'Dea's recent success against Blanchet, the Bears remained hopeful and brought a surge of energy to the game. Their student section was completely filled with students all showing school spirit pumped up for the days match up.
In the early stages of the game Senior Safety Rollis Talalemotu noted the Irish came out a little sluggish, "I don't think we (O'Dea) were locked in and I think because of that we came out slow."
Noting, to how in the beginning they were struggling to move the ball.
However, when you have a Standout Running Back like Brown you know a game changing play is on the horizon. It came when Brown broke through the defense scoring a touchdown putting the Irish up on the scoreboard.
After this the momentum shifted according to Junior Linebacker King Allah who said this was his favorite play of the game, "Probably when Jason scored the first touchdown, because I feel like it just set up the spark in our team to keep going."
Following Brown's touchdown, the Irish continued to build their lead. A long touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Ryan Philips added to their advantage. The game started to slip away from the Bears, with several three-and-out possessions and an interception by junior cornerback Sage Salopek further boosting the Irish's momentum.
By halftime, O'Dea had established a comfortable 33-7 lead, and after the break, many bench players had the opportunity to take the field. With this new group on the field their inexperience showed and there were some growing pains, such as a fumble by sophomore quarterback Hutton Leverett.
Despite this the game was already out or reach for the Bears and the Irish were able to maintain control. The final score of the contest was 51-21, with 14 of the Bears' 21 points being scored in garbage time against the young Irish backups.
While the Irish's performance was impressive, Senior Rollis Talalemotu emphasized that there were still areas for improvement, “There were a lot of mistakes many little ones, Coach Kohler got on the got on the guys for that."
Pointing to the little penalties and broken plays that happened during the game.
Looking ahead, the Irish aim to improve their record to 3-0 in their next game against metro rival Rainier Beach, who are currently struggling at 0-2 following a loss to Seattle Prep. You can catch this matchup next Friday, September 15th, at Memorial Stadium at 5 pm.
Stay tuned for more ISN game reports in the coming weeks!
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