3 takeaways from Washington 3A football semifinals: Another Banchero powers O'Dea to WIAA championship game

Giulio Banchero - top NBA player Paolo's younger brother - hauls in a 59-yard touchdown pass in final seconds to send Irish past Eastside Catholic; defending champion Bellevue outlasts Roosevelt

Uriah Stringfield rushed for a career-high 301 yards, and No. 2 seed O'Dea defeats No. 3 seed Eastside Catholic, 17-14, in WIAA Class 3A semifinals Saturday. / Photo by Todd Milles

SEATTLE - Semifinal fooball Saturday lived up to its blockbuster billing with great defense and late-game drama, including one touchdown reception the O'Dea faithful, including llongtime coach Monte Kohler, won't forget anytime soon.

Second-seeded O'Dea rallied in the fnal seconds to down No. 3 Eastside Catholic, 17-14, in the opener. Top-seeded and defending Class 3A champion Bellevue eventually crawled away from No. 4 Roosevelt, 29-13.

The top two seeds in the state will meet Friday night in the Gridiron Classic finals at Husky Stadium.

Here are three takeaways from the WIAA Class 3A semifinal games in Seattle:

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O'Dea football coach Monte Kohler has 393 career wins heading into 2024 WIAA 3A championship game. / Photo by Vince Miller

* O'DEA 17, EASTSIDE CATHOLIC 14

Uriah Stringfield rushed for a career-high 301 yards, but the only play folks will be talking about is Hutton Leverett's 59-yard touchdown pass to Giulio Banchero in the closing seconds to send the Fighting irish back to their first WIAA championship game since 2019.

Things looked grim for the Irish, trailing 14-9 and starting from its own 23-yard line with 65 seconds remaining.

But an Eastside Catholic penalty, and an 18-yard run by Stringfield brought the Fighting Irish near midfield where Leverett and Banchero hooked up for the game-winning score with 27 seconds remaining.

BANCHERO SAVES IRISH DAY

Leverett had been off all afternoon, including giving up a 31-yard interception return for a touchdown to Eastside Catholic's Carson McKelheer with 10:18 remaining that gave the Crusaders a 14-6 lead.

Owen Livingston drilled a 34-yard field goal two minutes later for O'Dea to trim it to 14-9 - and the Irish got a third-down stop late in the game to give their offense the ball back.

But on the decisive play, Leverett put enough air on his pass down the left sideline for someobody (hopefully Banchero) to come down with it.

"I knew he was going to ball out," Leverett said.

All of Eastside Catholic's Jaylin Keller and Asa Thompson - and Banchero - were tracking the pass in the air. Banchero made the first move at it, and leaped over Keller to grab the ball. As the defender fell to the ground, Thompson tried to make a tackle, but couldn't - and Banchero strolled in the final 20 yards - arm raised - for the score.

Said Banchero: "My quarterback put his trust in me and I did everything I could, and looked back and saw the ball instantaneously.

"From there, I just went up and prayed - and made the catch."

Kohler added: "Obviously he is an athlete and believes in himself. It was not a surprise he did that."

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Ryken Moon, son of NFL quarterback Warren Moon, is a do-everything weapon for Bellevue football in 2024. / Photo by Todd Milles

* BELLEVUE 29, ROOSEVELT 13

Max Jones rushed for 124 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but it was the Wolverines' defense and special teams that made the decisive plays in the second half that pushed the defending champions through to the Class 3A finals.

Bryce Smith picked off Rossevelt';s Dalton Andeson twice, and the defense recovered a quarterback fumble for three second-half turnovers. And Nick Norrah - punting in just his second game - pulled off a fake punt, running for 30 yards that flipped field position as Bellevue eventually scored two more touchdowns.

Ryken Moon added 103 yards on 15 carries. Roosevelt, which got a pair of Anderson-to-Nolan McWilliams scoring touchdowns, was held to just 79 yards after halftime.

ON ROAD AS TOP SEEDS?

Early in the week, the No. 1 Wolverines had heard they might have to travel and play at downtown Memorial Stadium, which happens to be Roosevelt's home field.

They asked the game be held at Pop Keeney Stadium or Renton Memorial Stadium, but were denied. WIAA assistant executive director Andy Barnes said having all four schools play at same site was primarily a game-management consolidation decision.

Which left the Wolverines understandably miffed.

"Us against everybody - always," Bellevue coach Michael Kneip said. "But everything is fine. We like playing here. It is an awesome environment for guys with the Space Needle and all that kind of stuff.

"You can't control it."

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SPECIAL TEAMS COME UP BIG

Except for giving up Jones' early 60-yard touchdown run, the Roosevelt defense did a admirable job against the Wolverines' Wing-T offense.

So, Kneip gambled - and won - on a couple special-teams plays by converting a fake two-point conversion play after Jones' second score with three minutes remaining in the first half, and getting Norah's fake-punt conversion from the Bellevue 15-yard line.

"It really changed the football game," Kneip said.

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