HS Football: GK Gets Big Win Over O'Dea To Start The Season

There9/5/2025

(Spanaway, WA) The atmosphere was electric at Art Crate Field with defending 3A champion O’Dea in town to take on 4A Graham Kapowsin. A lot of the buzz in the air was about O’Dea Head Coach Monte Kohler being one win away from being the sole winningest football coach in Washington history. He is currently tied with former Tumwater Coach Sid Otton with 394 wins.

The GK Eagles had other things in mind for the night. They were looking to take a step forward after a shorter run at state than they were expecting. With sophomore QB AJ Tuavaiave and a host of other returning players from last season that step forward got bigger Friday night.

Graham Kapowsin 40 O’Dea 38

Graham Kapowsin started on offense after O’Dea won the coin toss but deferred to the second half. The Eagles started on their own 48 after a nice kickoff return by Coleton Brown. It took 3 plays for GK to get on the board with junior running back Blake Pearson powering in for the 1 yard touchdown. Matthew Vollmer’s PAT was good making it 7-0 GK just over a minute into the game.

O’Dea answered back with a heavy dose of running on a 12 play six minute drive that ended with a 3-yard quarterback keeper by freshman Allias Moimoi. Moimoi came in for starter Hutton Leverett on the 3rd play of the drive and stayed in for the rest of the game.

The Eagles next drive was a 3 and out. O’Dea, keeping with the run game got deep into GK territory before their drive stalled but sophomore kicker Alec Petricic nailed a 37 yard field goal to give the Irish a 10-7 lead early in the 2nd quarter.

Another good kickoff return gave GK great field position at O’Dea’s 48. The Eagles kept airing out the ball and got a couple pass interference calls putting them in the red zone. Tuivaiave used his 6’3 215 pound frame and punched it in from 3 yards out the PAT was no good giving GK the 13-10 lead with 7:30 to play in the half.

Graham Kapowsin’s Quinncey Ratteray recovered a fumble forced by teammate Julius Hernandez-Avila at the Irish 18 with just under 6 minutes to go in the half. Three plays later Tuivaiave found Kase Betz in the corner of the endzone for the 20-10 lead and that’s how it went to halftime.

Halftime Graham Kapowsin 20 O’Dea 10

The Fighting Irish came out swinging in the 2nd half as they took just 4 plays to pull within 3. Moimoi hit Leo Banchero in the flat and Banchero broke a couple of tackles and shot down the field 70-yards for the touchdown. Petricic hit the PAT and it was 20-17 with 9:42 to go in the 3rd.

The Eagles recovered quickly and dominated with 2 touchdowns. G-K would go 46 yards in 4 plays. Blake Pearson blasted 14 yards to the 1 yard line. Tuivaiave then pushed it in for the score. The extra point failed but the Eagles led 26-17.

G-K’s defense held and forced a punt and the offense took over on their own 29 with 6:12 to go in the 3rd. Tuivaiave found big tight end Quinncey Ratteray for an 11-yard strike. The Eagles converted the 2 point play with Mazaia Roberson making the catch.

Irish Down but not out

That 2nd touchdown really took the wind out of the O’Dea sidelines and the packed crowd dressed in maroon and gold were quiet. Is this how this game was going to end? A dominant win by the home team, denying the big win to the O’Dea nation?

The Irish were scrambling and had to punt on their next possession. But, the O’Dea defense began to stir. They would hold and get the ball back on their own 30 with 11:42 to play in the game.

The Irish worked it down to the 19 yard line and were just trying to blast away at the heart of the G-K defense when fullback Max Speller ran through, around and over defenders willing himself into the end zone with 9:23 to play in the game. The PAT was good and it was now 34-24.

After a 3 and out and only draining 30-seconds off the clock, O’Dea got the ball back on their own 40. 4 plays later and Uriah Stringfield darted in from the 7, the extra point was good and it was a 3 point game with still 6:42 to play.

The O’Dea defense was jacked with help from a boisterous sideline and their fanbase losing their minds stepped up again for a 3 and out and O’Dea got the ball back on their own 38 with 5:29 to play.

With plenty of time the Irish could focus on scoring another touchdown and make the unbelievable comeback. They faced a 4th down and 3 on their side of the 50 when Moimoi drew the Eagles defense offside to give them a key 1st down.

They worked it down to the 26 yard line when the Irish went back to their basics and handed to their fullback which wasn’t Spellman but Owen Brustkern. Brustkern found a hole and sprinted the distance stunning both sides of the field with the O’Dea side bursting at the seams and a dejected home stands in their royal blue and orange. The PAT was good and O’Dea had done it, came all the way back and now led 38-34 but….there was still 2:02 left on the clock.

There was a strange feeling when G-K took over on their own 20. As if it was a relief for the Eagles. It was like they could get back to how they scored the first 34 points and not worry or figure out how to run out the clock. They know how to score.

They immediately got back into their passing rhythm with AJ hitting Betz to the 43 of O’Dea. On the next play Tuivaiave finds Jayce Halasz with a pinpoint throw between defenders to the Irish 28 yard line.

This set up the play of the game which began looking like just taking a little real estate with a safety valve flat pass to Roberson who cut back to the inside instead of taking 5 or 6 yards and getting out of bounds. Roberson found a seam and got all the way to the 1 yard line.

The Eagle bench exploded, many believing he got in the end zone. Penalty flags then were thrown with so many of the players leaving the sideline. Fortunately for the Eagles all they got was a sideline warning and the ball remained on the 1 yard line with about 40-seconds to play.

On the next play Tuivaiave sidestepped to the left and surged across the goal line for 6 and the lead. The PAT failed and with just a 2 point lead and 35.8 seconds to play with O’Dea having 2 time outs, the outcome was still in doubt.

That doubt evaporated on the 1st play for O’Dea from their own 20 when the snap was low to Moimoi who tried to scramble and get on top of it but Ratteray was bearing down for the Eagles and recovered the loose ball.

G-K went into victory formation and got revenge for their last second loss to O’Dea last year in their opener.

The Eagles are now 1-0 and will host Skyview next Friday. O’Dea will look to rebound vs Rainier Beach next Thursday. #395 is going to happen this year for Kohler and as close as it was on opening night no doubt he’d like it to happen sooner than later so the spotlight is not on him but his team where he believes it should be.

Regardless, this game was what High School football is all about. It had a play-off feel to it, the stands were packed and you couldn’t have asked both teams to give anymore than they did. Just a fantastic night of entertainment.

Remember games like these happen every single week and the cost is less than 10-bucks to get in, parking is free and hot dogs are $2. Just something to keep in mind when you and your family or friends are itching for something different to do, you can’t beat High School sports.

Sumner Holiday Inn Express MVP

This was tough with AJ Tuivaiave throwing for more than 300 yards and scoring 3 td’s, Kase Betz with 87 yards receiving and a Td but our crew went with the big tight end, Quinncey Rattray who had 2 catches and TD, a sack and strip and 2 fumble recoveries.

Had the Irish pulled off the win, Leo Banchero, Max Speller and Uriah Stringfield would have been in the conversation.

Stats

Graham-Kapowsin
Rushing 57-yards
Pearson 13/36 td, Tuivaiave 7/16 3td, Brown 1/5
Passing 307-yards
Tuivaiave 18/34 307 3 ytd
Receiving
Halasz 4/83 td, Betz 6/87 td, Ratteray 2/13 td, Corpuz 2/60, White 1/19, Roberson 2/30
Total Yards 364

O’Dea
Rushing 269-yards
Stringfield 20/117 td, Speller 4/22 td, Brustkern 3/37 td, Egan 5/25, Wilson 1/6, Moimoi 2/11 ytd
Passing 123-yards
Moimoi 6/9 113 td, Leverett 1/3 10
Receiving
Banchero 5/109 td, Schwerzel 1/10, Malietufa 1/4
Total Yards 392