The Issaquah Eagles football team picked up their second victory of the season last Friday against a beaten-up Kent Meridian team. Issaquah now improves their record to 2-1 and the offense is looking the best it has all year. Despite the opening week loss to Liberty, Issaquah has been putting up huge numbers on the offensive side of the ball. They managed to hold off Newport in week two in a 36-30 victory, in addition to outscoring Kent Meridian 41-20. The Issaquah offense is led by senior quarterback Kellan Odegard. He said, “I have felt really good throwing the ball lately and the plays I am making feel almost effortless.” Odegard had five total touchdowns in their win over Kent Meridian, and three total touchdowns in their week two victory against Newport. He is a real threat to any defense in the KingCo conference, and he will continue to stay on this tear thanks to his surrounding weapons. 

Senior wideout Tanner Geraci has been ruled out for Friday’s game, which is a big blow to the offense. His return is to be determined. Geraci said, “Last week’s game was surreal. It was my first three-touchdown game of the season and hopefully not my last.” This now opens a big role that needs to be filled by senior tight end Max Goldberg and sophomore Spencer Blumenthal. These two sure-handed receivers will hold it down for the offense. Goldberg, receiving his first touchdown last Friday, will need to step up in the passing game this week against Redmond. His amazing pass blocking ability goes unnoticed, but his incredible hands and route running are very much visible. He is such a versatile athlete that I would not want to line up against him in any situation. Goldberg said, “Kellan and I have a great connection with one another. He knows where I am at all times and that is all you can ever ask for in a quarterback.” Senior wideout Julian Ohmie has also been cleared to return to practice this week. He has been out the first three weeks, and his return will bolster this star-studded Eagles receiving core. 

Not only can the Eagles throw the pigskin around, the run game is at times even more threatening. Senior running back Henry Hess already has a 200-yard rushing game under his belt this season, with many more to come. His shifty and quick play style will catch a lot of defenses off guard. Hess already has 375 plus all-purpose yards through three games. The Eagles got out to an early 21-0 lead in the first quarter. First, two touchdowns came from the Odegard-Geraci tandem which was seemingly unstoppable last Friday night. The Kent Meridian punter had a lot of work as they struggled to keep their offense on the field.

The main struggle this year has been the defense. Led by senior captain Ragen Kiefer, the defense got things going last week. Kiefer was consistently blowing plays up in the backfield, making several tackles for loss. Seniors Chandler Tuupo and Matthew Fullmer also play giant roles in the Eagles defensive success. Both players are very hard hitting, physical players. In addition, sophomore cornerback Sebastian Powers had a near pick-six in the contest. He made a really nice read on a play on the Kent Meridian side of the field and almost took it back to the house, being tackled at the one yard line. 

Many positive signs came from the Kent Meridian game on Friday. I am very encouraged by the way Issaquah has been playing, and I am excited to see how their season plays out.