The O’Dea football team is going into its 8th game this season being 7-0. As the #2 ranked team in the state, they have many key players contributing to the undefeated season, such as senior linebackers Joseph Fuavai and King Allah, and juniors Uriah Stringfield, Hutton Leverett, and Giulio Banchero leading the charge into the second half of the season. Led by head coach Monte Kohler, the Fighting Irish is off to a great start to the season and has yet to find somebody to bring them defeat.
One of O'Dea's biggest strengths is their rush game, despite having their starting back, Lucas Hercules-Cruz, injured. Stringfield has filled in nicely. 26 of the Irish's touchdowns this year alone have come from rushing. They average 6.74 yards per rush, with a total of 1790 yards on offense gained from said plays.
On defense, the Irish aren't to be trifled with either. Most of their games have been successful shutouts, forcing the opposing team to scramble for any sort of gain. Their opponents have averaged a gain of 2.4 yards per rush, and have a 47.55% pass completion rate despite throwing the ball 143 times.
Despite their raw strength, something the Irish can improve upon is their passing game. As of now, they have made only attempted 46 passes in the entire season thus far, and connected 19 of them. That's a 41.3% completion rate, relatively low compared to their opponents. Although their rushing performance can carry the weight of the team, improving in the pass should be something to keep in mind throughout the rest of the season.
As one of the best teams in Washington state, they have a bright path ahead of them. With a record that can take them to the playoffs, their journey is just getting started.
Watch them play Roosevelt on Friday, October 25th at Memorial Stadium.
Photo by Paddy Mahar.
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