The Olympia High School Bears defeated the Capital High School Cougars with a 21-14 final score for the 48th annual Spaghetti Bowl matchup. Anticipation for this matchup was high, with tensions building throughout the week.
In this thrilling, close game, emotions were flying as much as the players. Both schools’ bands were there in full force, and both student sections were packed. 7:00 pm kickoff came, and the game was away.
The game was a close battle throughout, with Harper Hejtmanek and Blake Peterson scoring the two first-half touchdowns for Olympia. Going into the fourth quarter, the game was tied at 14 apiece.
Capital High School had the ball with 4 minutes left but a turnover with 1:30 left grabbed by Christopher Mondau gave Olympia new life, starting at Capital’s 40-yard line. With 40 seconds on the clock, Drake Hughes caught a 38-yard pass to bring it down to the 2-yard line for the Bears. With 20 seconds on the clock, quarterback Cameron Downing crossed the pylon and scored the game-winning touchdown. 21-14 was the final score.
Monday after the game, Head Coach Nick Mullen was interviewed for his thoughts on the Bears win. Coach Mullen drew up the game-winning drive by giving the players the options. “They chose how they wanted to win the game,” he stated. With the game on the line, Coach Mullens put his faith in his players to win the game for Olympia and send the ecstatic fans home with a gritty win.
When asked about the team’s performance, Mullen answered, “The number of penalties was surprising but it’s the first week, and a win is a win in the Spaghetti Bowl, very happy and my whole week of stress is finally gone.” Despite the apprehension heading into the game and the close battle within, Olympia emerged victorious and as Coach Mullen declared, a win is a win.
Following the game, Offensive Lineman and Captain Handel Itegi was asked for his thoughts and emotions after winning the 2024 Spaghetti Bowl. Itegi was on the field for the game-winning touchdown and said that he “was at first nervous about the play, but it was a do-or-die situation, so I went all out and Cameron scored the winning touchdown.” With all the flags and penalties on the Offensive Line, Itegi was still going all out and was rewarded with winning the Spaghetti Bowl.
The game-ending play was an overthrow on a Hail Mary and we asked Itegi what the emotions were when the ball hit the ground and ended the game. He stated, “I had confidence that Capital wasn’t going to score, put trust and faith in our defense. The faith ended in the defense doing their job.” With high confidence and his leadership role as one of the Captains on the team, Itegi put faith, trust, and confidence into the team, and that confidence propelled the defense to stop Capital.
