The old adage titled, “a comeback for the ages” would be an understatement with regard to what the Eastside Catholic Crusaders achieved in the Class 3A state championship game against the Bellevue Wolverines.

Bellevue dominated the first 30 minutes of the game. Bellevue led Eastside Catholic 35-14 at halftime and extended their lead to 42-14 on a Christoph Hirota 12-yard touchdown run with 6:10 left in the third quarter. Eastside Catholic looked defeated. Though it seemed over, the game didn’t end there.

Eastside Catholic outscored Bellevue 34-0 down the stretch, earning an improbable 48-42 overtime victory on Dec. 4 at the Tacoma Dome. It was the second consecutive season the Crusaders have defeated the Wolverines in the state title game. University of Washington bound running back Brandon Wellington scored on a 1-yard touchdown run in overtime for the game-winning score. Crusaders’ linebacker Parker Davidson, who finished with seven tackles and a sack, said his team never wavered despite being down by a plethora of points.

“We never gave up on each other; we always pick each other up,” Davidson said. “Somehow we figured out a way to pull it out. It was crazy.”

The “crazy” comeback began when Crusaders’ quarterback Harley Kirsch hit Hunter Bryant on a 28-yard touchdown pass and a 5-yard touchdown strike late in the third quarter cutting Bellevue’s lead to 42-28 at the end of three quarters of play. Kirsch hit Matt Laris on a 4-yard touchdown pass, slicing Bellevue’s lead to 42-35 with 5:49 left in the game.

Bellevue appeared to stop the bleeding with 2:09 remaining in regulation. With Bellevue clinging to a meager seven-point lead, Eastside Catholic faced a third down with 15 yards to go at the Bellevue 32-yard line. Kirsch’s pass was intercepted by Bellevue’s Michael Medzegian. Bellevue’s sideline celebrated until a yellow flag was discovered on the field. The Wolverines were called for a face-mask penalty and Eastside Catholic’s drive remained alive. Brandon Wellington scored on an 11-yard touchdown run tying the game at 42-42 with 1:24 left to force overtime.

“That play at the end where we picked the ball — we felt like we won it then,” Bellevue head coach Butch Goncharoff said. “That is a hell of a call to make at the end of the game.”

In overtime, Bellevue gained possession of the ball first. On third down, Bellevue quarterback Justus Rogers lofted a pass to the left corner of the endzone intended for Tyson Penn but the pass was broken up by Eastside Catholic’s Victor Guevara. Bellevue attempted a 39-yard field goal but the kick was wide left. It took the Crusaders just three plays to find the endzone. Wellington scored the game-winning touchdown on a 1-yard run up the middle to clinch the victory. Bryant said there wasn’t a doubt in his mind his team would win once they got to overtime.

“Our offense couldn’t be stopped. We never had any doubt,” Bryant said. “We always had faith in our family. We knew what we could do and we did it.”

Kirsch concurred with Bryant’s sentiment.

“We wanted to score so bad,” Kirsch said.

Wellington believes Eastside Catholic’s senior leadership paid dividends when they were trailing by 28 points in the third quarter.

“This group is just tremendous. You never see anyone with their heads down. We are always going to push and we’re always going to fight because we’re a rowdy group and it shows,” Wellington said. “Going into overtime we knew we had it. The energy changed, the atmosphere changed. The momentum was on our side and we knew we couldn’t be stopped.”

Crusaders’ head coach Jeremy Thielbahr, who was mobbed by a bevy of well-wishers, friends, family and players in between postgame interviews following the game, was jovial following one of the biggest victories of his coaching career.

“I’m really excited for our kids and our community. It was a great win,” Thielbahr said. “I think it paid off big time for us in the second half. For us to be resilient like that is just a tribute to our kids.”

Thielbahr said winning the state title for the second year in a row against Bellevue was special.

“I don’t care what anybody says, Butch Goncharoff is the best coach in the state. That guy does an amazing job. It is an honor competing against him,” Thielbahr said. “That is what you want as a coach, you want to compete against the best coaches in the state. Butch is definitely that guy.”