HS Football: Olympia comeback just enough to get by Issaquah

9-12/2025

Olympia 16, Issaquah 15

(Olympia, WA) The Issaquah Eagles made the drive down to Ingersoll stadium at Olympia High School on Friday night and looked like they were going to leave with a 2-0 record. But the Olympia Bears hung in with the Eagles when it felt like Issaquah was in complete control of this game. The Bears would get their opportunity late in the 4th quarter and took full advantage.

The game felt a bit off schedule and not sure both teams got to go through their regular pre-game routines. Issaquah arrived later than they wanted too with traffic issues and had arrived earlier they still may not have gotten in their regular routine. The Olympia girls soccer team hosted Lewis and Clark with a match that began at 4p and the teams did not really have access to the field until after 6p.

When the game began the Bears won the toss and elected to take the ball to try and get their offense rolling. After a first donw the Bears dropped back to pass and QB Tucker Downing fired a ball to Noah Miller which went off his hands and then off an Eagle DB and bounced up in the air where defensive tackle Caleb Rdwards was hustling down the field and caught the ball, DT’s dream.

Issaquah took over on the Bears 43 but a 3-0 after 3 straight incomplete passes quickly ended the threat.

The Bears then went on a 8 play drive and were threatening inside the 10 when Bears RB Shaun McKay fumbled the ball and Boyd Noble recovered for the Eagles on their own 5 yard line. The offense moved the ball but on the 13th play, a 4th down the Bears stuffed them and Olympia got the ball back on their own 25. Olympia then went 4 and out and a short punt gave the ball back to Issaquah on the Olympia 42 at the beginning of the 2nd quarter.

This time the Eagles did not squander their chance. The big play was a pass from QB Alex Kirkpatrick to Trevor Sharp on a 15 yard completion to the 5. On the next play running back Angelo Masciocchi ran it in untouched over the right side behind John Feldman and Michael Pack. Armaan Katarya hit the PAT and it was 7-0 with 9:13 to go in the half.

After and exchange of possessions, Olympia got the ball back but were backed up on their own 4 yard line. A 3 and out and a penalty put the ball inside the 2 yard line. Punter Eli Frost was back just inside the back line of the endzone, the snap was a touch high and when Frost came down stepped back just slightly but enough to step on the back line reulting in a safety. Issaquah took a 9-0 lead and was about to get the ball back with 4:45 to play in the half. Kicking from the the 20 gave the Eagles excellent field position on their own 46 yard line and a chance to put Olympia in a big time hole.

The Bears needed some defense and they got it forcing a 3 and out and they got the ball back on their own 20 with 3:04 to play. The Bears were moving the ball but were taking their time. The clock ticking down Downing found Ethan Phitsamay for just a 2-yard gain but was enough for a 1st down with less than 20 seconds to go. Downing then killed the clock as Olympia was out of timeouts.

As the 2nd half began, it was clear scoring was going to be at a premium. On Olympia’s 2nd possession that began on their own 45 with 2:40 to go in the 3rd quarter the Bears would pick up a pair of 1st downs and drove to the 25 where they faced a 4th and 1. Olympia chose to go for 3 with Frost despite having the PAT blocked. Head Coach Nick Mullin made the correct call as Frost belted a 37 yard field goal and with 11:55 to go in the game the Bears tied it up at 9-9.

The Eagles then fumbled and gave Olympia a great chance to take their first lead when Luke Smith recovered the ball on the Eagle 24. But Issaquah’s defense dug in and the Bears again faced a 4th and 1 and brought Frost out again for a 41-yard attempt. The kick was low and the Eagles blocked it. The ball took a bounce right into the hands of Austin Staples on the 30 yard line. Staples then took it to the house for a huge momentum changer and Issaquah retook the lead 15-9. The PAT from Katarya then went to the right and clanked off the upright and was no good keeping the difference at 6.

After a couple of possessions the Bears got the ball back on their own 26 with 4:48 left to play. The Bears were taking their time and although moving the ball they were also buring a lot of time. Olympia faced a 4th and 2 on their own 44 and had to go for it with time down to less than 2 minutes to play. McKay the running back motioned out of the backfield and Downing found him along the sideline and was marked out at the Issaquah 49.

On the next play, Downing dropped back to pass and found Aden Carr at the 42 just trying to keep moving the chains. Carr grabbed it, then split two defenders and instead of just a nice gain near the 1st down marker, Carr was gone and finished it to the endzone for a 49-yard catch and run to tie the game at 15 with 1:44 to play. The Bears and their fans then held their collective breaths on the PAT with one blocked and a field goal blocked earlier in the game. Frost came out confident and booted right down main street for the go-ahead point.

Believe it or not, Issaquah got the ball back not once but twice as they had all 3 time-outs. On 3rd and 10 on their 2nd to last possession Sam Rigg pulled down an interception on the Olympipa 36. The Eagles burned all 3 time outs and got the ball back on their own 38 and again Sam Rigg comes up with the play with another pick. The Bears kneed one play and the Olympia completed their 1st win of the season.

Our Thorbeckes MVP of the game went to Olympia QB Tucker Downing who kept his team in the game and came through in the end with a great performance going 25 or 37 for 245 yards and 2 touchdowns. He had the one interception that should not have been as it pinballed around and ended up in a defenders hands. Sam Rigg was right there and could have easily been named the MVP and we liked the efforts of Brandon barrett, Hunter Liberty Kameron Kronmeyer.

Had Issaquah pulled this out Angelo Masciocchi finished with 138 yards rushing, Grant Fitzgerald was all-over the field and Austion Staples with the big blocked field goal return.

Olympia is now 1-1 and will travel to Hazen next Thursday for another non-league game. Issaquah drops to 1-1 and will look to bounce back at home for another non-conference game against Skyline.

Stats

Olympia
Total Yards: 324
Rushing: 79
McKay 17/73, Miller 2/7, Downing 6/0
Passing: 245
Downing 25/37 2 TD, 1 INT, Nutu 0/2
Receiving: 245
Betts, 3/69, Miller 6/65, Carr 49 TD, DeBord 3/30, Kronmeyer 2/11, McKay 2/11, Phitsamay 3/10, Rigg 1/10 TD

Issaquah
Total Yards: 246
Rushing: 145
Masciocchi 138, A Kirkpatrick 1/2, Chang 3/5
Passing: 101
A Kirkpatrick 7/15 58 2 INT
Receiving: 101
Fitzgerald 2/27, Sharp 2/23, Hansen 2/23, Jonnala 1/17, Masciocchi 1/5, Trice 2/3, Zhao 1/3