KENT — E + R = O.
Event plus response equals the outcome.
The Olympia High School girls flag football team had to look in the mirror after Friday’s 35-7 district quarterfinals loss to South Kitsap — the event — face their mistakes and then rebound against Curtis on Saturday — the response.
Head coach Justin Christiansen used the E+R=O formula to challenge the Bears Saturday morning before the consolation winner-to-state contest against Curtis at French Field in Kent.
The outcome? A trip to Issaquah for the 4A State Tournament.
Olympia used a dominant defensive effort to stymie Curtis 14-7, stopping the Vikings on a fourth-down attempt as time expired to clinch the program’s first state berth.
“I’m excited for the girls. We challenged them a little bit this morning, and they absolutely rose to the challenge,” Christiansen said.
Olympia needed a spark plug defensively after the past two games, allowing 35 each to Sumner and South Kitsap. That spark plug was freshman Camille Lee, who made her varsity debut Saturday. On Curtis’ first possession of the game, she stepped in front of a pass and intercepted it, setting the Bears up with strong field position.
Freshman Ella Moynihan capitalized on the turnover by scoring a rushing touchdown to put Olympia on the board first.
The Bears defense was efficient in the first half. They allowed minimal yardage and rarely missed a flag pull. Curtis was bound into several fourth-and-long scenarios and opted to punt back to Olympia throughout the half.
“We really bounced back from yesterday. We were working together more. We were talking more, and we were rallying to the ball,” Brynn Udo said of the defense.
With over six minutes left in the half, Mariah Martin connected with Udo on a pass, and the senior Udo raced to the pylon to score a touchdown and give Olympia a 14-0 lead at halftime.
Five minutes into the second half, the Vikings responded with a touchdown pass to cut the deficit in half. Curtis’ defense handed the ball back to its offense with an interception of Martin midway through the second half.
The free possession didn’t ultimately result in points for the Vikings, as Olympia stopped them on fourth down with five minutes left in the game. After the Bears failed to score on the ensuing drive, the Vikings found themselves in a position to tie or win the game. Curtis converted on a fourth down deep in Olympia territory with two minutes left, but Lee backed the Vikings up with a sack.
Senior Josie Balsley was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty with under a minute left, giving Curtis an automatic first down. Curtis nearly scored a touchdown in the final minute but was called for flag guarding to back its offense up again.
On fourth down with five seconds left, Curtis’ Maci Mladenich caught a pass, but Balsley, who had spent a couple of snaps on the sideline following the penalty, swooped in and pulled her flag with no time left on the clock.
“She’s really good at being able to rebound. She doesn’t let things get in her head that much. She just wants to rally, and she just wants to play,” Christiansen said of Balsley. “Sometimes what it takes is taking an athlete off the field for a couple plays, letting them reset and then putting them back in.”
Balsley said she was relieved that the Bears escaped victoriously and prevailed in such a nail-biting scenario.
“It was a pretty hard game, so it was really nice to see it all come together in the last second,” she said. “I think we just had to support each other and keep our heads up [after Friday’s game]. If we had gotten in our own heads, it would have changed the game completely.”
Six Olympia seniors will get their first taste of the state tournament in Issaquah next week. Although girls flag football didn’t become a WIAA-sanctioned sport until this season, Olympia has had a program since the 2023-24 season, but it didn’t qualify for state until this year.
“Each year, we’ve gone farther. We’re taking the steps toward state, and I’m happy that we have another week,” Udo said.
“I just want to leave everything on the field,” Balsley added. “I want to end the season with no regrets.”
