The O'Dea Fighting Irish Beat The Bothell Cougars 21-13 In A Non-Conference Match

SEATTLE- Friday night lights were back in Seattle, as 3A O'Dea Fighting Irish took down 4A Bothell Cougars 21-13 in a non-conference match at Memorial Stadium.

Second half touchdowns by junior running back Jason Brown Jr. and senior wide receiver Darien Maragh gave the Irish the comeback win in the second half. With the win the Irish kick off their season with a 1-0 record.

After finding themselves down 13-0 after the first half, the Irish needed a big response in the second half to win the game.

" We were not at our best, we were playing at Bothell's standards, "O'Dea strong safety Sir Keenan Hart said. " You know we had a little talk at half, and we had to fix our mindset."

Coming into the second half, the Irish looked motivated and were ready for a second half master class. The climax of the match was Brown's 25-yard run that got the Irish back in the game.

Brown had an outstanding rushing game with 198 yards. Junior quarterback Luke Danna threw a perfect 29-yard touchdown to Maragh as the Irish sealed the win.

There were some nerves for some of the players heading into game. " I had a little nerves coming into the game because it was the first game of the season and it was my first full season as a starter, " Hart said.

Early in the game, it felt like the Irish might be in for a rough start to the season.

"The turning point in the game was we were on the front foot early on in the second half like winning the first kickoff."

The Cougars showed some great defense in the first half especially and didn't let the Irish through their defense. But some brilliant athleticism by Brown just was too hot to handle for the Cougar defense.

Up next for the Irish, they host the Bishop Blanchet Braves at West Seattle Stadium. Up next for the Cougars they play Central Kitsap in Silverdale.

The Irish will surely be fired up heading into the game against Blanchet.