The Eastside Catholic Crusaders football team’s aspirations of a third consecutive state title on the gridiron were derailed by the Kamiakin Braves in the Class 3A semifinals.

The Braves earned a 30-27 victory against the Crusaders in a thriller between two evenly matched squads on Nov. 26 at Pop Keeney Stadium in Bothell.

Kamiakin senior football player Isaiah Brimmer made two of the biggest plays of his life at the most critical junctures of the game to help guide his team to a triumph against the two-time defending state champions. Brimmer hauled in a 14-yard touchdown pass on a fade route from Kamiakin quarterback Zach Borisch with 10:44 left in regulation, giving the Braves a 30-27 lead.

With 1:14 left in regulation, Brimmer intercepted Eastside Catholic quarterback Zach Lewis’ pass in the middle of the field to seal the victory. Eastside Catholic’s defense forced Kamiakin to punt on their next offensive possession after just three plays. The Crusaders got the ball back on their own 25-yard line with just one second remaining. Lewis rolled to his right and unleashed the pass down the right side of the field that sailed out of bounds near midfield to end the game.

Brimmer was jubilant following one of the biggest victories of his life.

“No one in the state believed we could do it but we did it. This is the best feeling I have had in my entire life,” Brimmer said.

Kamiakin head coach Scott Biglin was proud of his team’s defensive performance. The Braves didn’t allow Eastside Catholic stalwart wide receiver/tight end Hunter Bryant to find the end zone and intercepted Lewis twice during the course of the game.

“Our defense has been lights out all year,” Biglin said. “That is a great football team and for us to be able to come up with a win speaks a lot about our character and our resiliency. It is just an unbelievable feeling. Our kids have worked so hard for this. I’m so proud of them.”

Lewis, a junior signal caller who was in his first season as the Crusaders’ starting quarterback in 2016, was emotionally spent following the loss.

“We’re all competitors. We hate losing. We played a great team and they came out on top,” Lewis said of the Braves. “It is really frustrating. We do everything for the seniors and it’s not the way we wanted them to go out. It’s not fun.”

Bryant, who will play football at the University of Washington in the fall 2017, exuded pride in his squad despite not making it back to the state title contest.

“A lot of people didn’t think we were going to make it this far because of all the people we lost from last year (2015). We were young and we had so many new faces coming into this season. Everybody played really well together,” Bryant said.

Eastside Catholic head coach Jeremy Thielbahr was disappointed to see his team’s season end short of the state championship game for the first time in five seasons. The Crusaders appeared in the Class 3A state championship game from 2012-2015 and captured state championships in 2014 and 2015.

“We had a great journey, we just didn’t finish the way we wanted. That is life. I love these guys and I love this program,” Thielbahr said. “I just feel bad for these seniors. They worked so hard. I was hoping for another week. Hats off to Kamiakin. They played fantastic.”

The 2017 season has already entered the thought process for the Crusaders just minutes after the final whistle of the 2016 season.

“The next journey starts Monday (Nov. 28). We’ve got to be in the weight room and be ready to go,” Thielbahr said.

Lewis echoed Thielbahr’s sentiment.

“For the rest of us (underclassmen), we just have to come back and work even harder.”