TACOMA — Against a good team, in a big game, sometimes it is all about the way the ball bounces.

Facing an early deficit against sixth-ranked Camas Friday night, O'Dea found itself in need of a big play. Taryll Calhoun provided one. And he had a little help.

Sophomore quarterback Pierre Le Dorze fired a pass that was tipped. It wasn't intended for Calhoun, but it landed in his hands for a 64-yard touchdown that sparked the third-ranked Irish's 21-13 victory over the Papermakers in the Class 3A state football semifinals at the Tacoma Dome.

"It was crazy," said Le Dorze, who completed 5 of 9 passes for 113 yards and the touchdown. He also rushed for a score and converted a crucial fourth down in the fourth quarter with a 2-yard run. "I was trying to hit one receiver and it got tipped. He caught it and ran for a touchdown. It was great."

O'Dea (13-0) will play the winner of Saturday's semifinal game between top-ranked Bellevue and No. 4 Kamiakin for the state championship at 7:30 p.m. at the Tacoma Dome on Dec. 2.

"We don't get many breaks," O'Dea coach Monte Kohler said. "That was one of the first times we felt we got lucky, and that was a big play."

The first half was dominated by defense. After a scoreless first quarter, the Papermakers (11-2) struck first when Roldan Alcobendas hit a 22-yard field goal.

On the ensuing drive, the Irish needed to generate some momentum after picking up just one first down in their first three drives. Facing third-and-eight, Le Dorze whipped the tipped pass that produced O'Dea's first points.

It changed the momentum. It didn't help Camas that standout running back Zach Marshall was forced out of the game with a thumb injury. Before leaving, he had 51 yards on six carries.

"O'Dea's a great football team; they stuck to their stuff and they got us on some stuff," Camas quarterback Tony Gennaro said. "They capitalized on a lot of our mistakes, and they didn't make a lot of mistakes."

O'Dea tacked on a second touchdown late in the second quarter after Joseph Hopkins picked off his second pass of the first half. O'Dea led 14-3 at halftime.

"This is what we've been saying since the beginning of the summer," Hopkins said. "This is all we wanted, and now we're there to the championship. This isn't the end."

The Papermakers didn't go quietly, scoring 10 points in the third quarter to cut O'Dea's lead to just one point after Alcobendas hit a 38-yard field goal.

With the energy slowly surging Camas' way, O'Dea chewed up 13 of the game's final 14 minutes. Jomari Brooks capped an 84-yard scoring drive with a 30-yard run and, after Camas went three-and-out, the Irish ran out the clock, converting two fourth downs along the way.

"We knew it wasn't going to be an easy win," Brooks said. "We just had to stick together and keep battling.

"We're used to close games like this, so we've got experience and we just kept fighting."

Mason Kelley: 206-464-8277 or mkelley@seattletimes.com