Eastside Catholic proves too much for Lincoln in 3A state semifinal matchup
It was the Class 3A heavyweight fight the fans wanted, between the third-seeded Lincoln Abes and the No. 2 Eastside Catholic Crusaders on Saturday afternoon at Sammamish High School. In the end, the Crusaders’ talent was too much for the Abes to overcome, as Eastside Catholic came out on top, 34-21, to advance to the Class 3A state tournament championship game.
With the loss, Lincoln’s season came to an end. It was the first Abes team to reach the state semifinal round.
“It was a very physical game,” said Lincoln coach Masaki Matsumoto. “They’re a great team and have a lot of great players. Our kids stepped up and matched their physicality and matched them overall and I was proud of them.”
Lincoln trailed at half, 14-7, and the Abes were in prime position to stage an upset with a strong second-half performance. But Eastside Catholic came out firing in the third quarter. Gio Ursino rushed for a 51-yard score early in the quarter, giving the Crusaders a two-touchdown lead. Less than four minutes later, Eastside Catholic quarterback Kobe Muasau connected with Ursino for a 30-yard pass to give the Crusaders a 28-7 lead.
“It was like basketball,” said Lincoln senior corner and receiver Jaylen Clark. “Each team went on runs. We had to stop some of those. We just weren’t able to.”
Lincoln would fight back in the fourth quarter, but the gap proved too large to close late in the game.
“It just comes down to execution,” said Lincoln receiver and defensive back Julien Simon. “They out-executed us today. They did a good job of executing.”
Eastside Catholic had a strong day running the ball, led by Ursino, who rushed 14 times for 118 yards and a touchdown, and caught four passes for 74 yards and a touchdown. He was completed by running back Sam Adams, who rushed 11 times for 37 yards and two touchdowns. Muasau completed 15-of-20 passes for 271 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
For the Abes, running back Abner Sio-Fetaui rushed 31 times for 145 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Caden Filer completed 16-of-29 passes for 121 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, also rushing 13 times for 44 yards and a touchdown.
Lincoln’s passing game was slowed down by a talented Eastside Catholic secondary, led by Ohio State commit Gee Scott. Jr., who racked up two interceptions.
“They have some good cover guys,” Matsumoto said. “They took away some things by double-teaming some of our guys. They just did a great job.”
Lincoln fought back with two scores in the fourth; a Filer 1-yard run on a read-option keeper and a 5-yard pass from Filer to Jaylen Clark in the left corner of the end zone.
“I’m so proud of them,” Matsumoto said. “They fought. A few guys played through some illnesses and injuries. They put it all out there today. Couldn’t be prouder of the group.”
Despite the loss, it was nonetheless a banner year for Lincoln, which became the first Tacoma Public School since Marcus Trufant led-Wilson in 1998 to reach the state semifinals.
“The culture here is just so great,” Clark said. “I’m happy to be an Abe. I’m forever an Abe and Tacoma is my home.”
This story was originally published November 30, 2019 at 5:10 PM.
