Kingbowl Xviii -- O'dea Edges Lake Stevens -- Irish Win AA Title On Late Fg Miss

A few feet to the left made all the difference for the O'Dea Fighting Irish.

Third-ranked O'Dea captured the Class AA state football championship by beating No. 4 Lake Stevens 7-6 last night at the Kingdome, as a potential game-winning field-goal attempt by the Vikings was wide left with less than a minute remaining.

O'Dea, the Metro League champion, won the state title for the second time in four years and finishes the season 13-0.

Lake Stevens, champion of the Western Conference, finishes 12-1.

O'Dea quarterback Chris Johnson scored on a 1-yard sneak with 3:49 left in the game. The conversion by Jim Skurski gave the Irish a 7-6 lead.

Lake Stevens started the next drive at its own 22. The drive started with a 13-yard pass from Ryan Oase to Keith Hutchinson, who made a leaping catch. Hutchinson then pitched the ball to Ryan Bundy, who ran for 12 more yards to the Viking 47.

A 28-yard completion from Oase to Hutchinson moved the ball to the O'Dea 23 with just over two minutes left.

The Vikings then drove to the O'Dea 13. Oase, who missed the extra point earlier in the game, attempted a 30-yard field goal. His kick was wide left by a few feet. Some players on the Lake Stevens sideline thought the kick was good.

O'Dea's lone touchdown was set up by a 46-yard punt return by Edgar DuBose. DuBose, fielding a punt near midfield, picked up a tremendous block from Nick Stefonick to rumble down the left

sideline before getting tackled at the Viking 5.

Three plays later, Johnson, following blocks by Brian Lell and Mike Lemanu, scored with 3:49 left.

DuBose, who ran for more than 1,000 yards this season, was held to 26 yards on 12 carries by a swarming Lake Stevens defense.

Oase, who hurt his right (throwing) shoulder in the eighth week of the regular season, returned to play the title game. He had sat out the regular-season finale and the quarterfinal and semifinal games.

Oase, a 6-foot-1, 200 pound junior, completed five of nine passes for 88 yards and no interceptions in the first half. Oase, a standout pitcher, helped the Vikings finish second in the Class AA state baseball tournament in the spring.

The Vikings scored the only touchdown of the first half after putting together a 13-play, 80-yard drive that consumed 5 minutes, 34 seconds of the first and second quarters.

Bundy, the Viking fullback, scored on a 1-yard run with 9:18 left in the second quarter. It was the 17th touchdown of the season for Bundy, the leading scorer from WesCo AA.

The key plays in the drive were a 19-yard completion from Oase to Brandon Nilson and a 15-yard completion on a slant pattern to Mica Fazio.

O'Dea put together the game's first drive, marching to the Viking 19. But a clipping penalty helped stall the drive.

The Fighting Irish, champions of Seattle's Metro League, converted their first three fourth-down plays.

But O'Dea was stopped on the fourth attempt late in the second quarter. On fourth and 1 from the Viking 14, Ronnie Bryant was stuffed for a 1-yard loss by linebacker Bundy and defensive tackle John Stewart.

The Vikings then drove deep into O'Dea territory, with a 33-yard completion from Oase to Keith Hutchinson the big play.

But on first down from the O'Dea 26, Oase was sacked by all-Metro players Kurth Connell and Nick Stefonick, and the ball popped loose. The play was ruled a fumble, although replays indicated Oase's knee was down, and Stefonick recovered with 29 seconds left in the half.

Ray Vodegel of Lake Stevens intercepted Chris Johnson's pass on the next play with eight seconds left in the second period.

O'Dea held the ball for 15:07 in the first half, compared to 8:53 for Lake Stevens. But the Vikings held a sizable edge in total offense, 124 yards to 86.

O'Dea 0 0 0 7- 7

Lake Stevens 0 6 0 0- 6

LS - Bundy 1 run (kick failed)

OD - C. Johnson 1 run (Skurski kick)

OD LS First downs 12 12 Rushes-yards 44-128 28-82 Passing 56 143 Return Yards 108 26 Comp-Att-Int 4-10-1 7-16-0 Punts 2-25 3-36 Fumbles-Lost 1-1 0-0 Penalties-Yards 1-18 4-32 Time of Possession 30:31 17:29 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - O'Dea, C.Johnson 17-41, Montero 6-40, Friedrich 6-27, E.DuBose 12-26, Bryant 3-(-6). Lake Stevens, Bundy 10-48, Human 10-27, Vodegel 6-25, Oase 2-(-18).

Passing - O'Dea, C.Johnson 4-10-1-56. Lake Stevens, Oase 7-16-0-143.

Receiving - O'Dea, D.Johnson 1-30, Carroll 1-16, Friedrich 1-10, E.DuBose 1-0. Lake Stevens, Hutchinson 4-85, Nilson 1-20, Fazio 1-15, Human 1-9, Bundy 0-14.