It's been almost a year since O'Dea was last shutout in a football. Last year, the Irish were blanked by Bothell, 25-0, in Week 2.

That came one week after the Irish edged Capital.

O'Dea went on to have a successful season, falling to Liberty in the first round of the playoffs in Memorial Stadium. After losing to Capital on Thursday night to open the 2010 schedule, the Irish now face a Week 2 matchup with 10th-ranked Ferndale.

Now, despite the loss, this Irish squad has talent. The defense hits hard, just ask Cougars quarterback Alex Everson, who was sandwiched between Curtis Taylor and Connor Lane for a sack on third-and-7 during the first drive of the game.

After that play, it seemed like the Irish were building momentum, but the offense couldn't keep it going and then there was the fourth-down touchdown play on Capital's next drive that put O'Dea in a hole it couldn't recover from.

For more on the game, here's my story from West Seattle Stadium.

I think the Irish are going to be fine.They have good size on the line and should be able to run the ball better than they did against the Cougars. Keenan Forch is a talented back and Michael Martin runs hard out of the fullback position.

From what I saw, that game was more about how good Capital is and how much the Cougars wanted a little payback than being the first step to a long season for O'Dea. The one worry is the injury suffered by lineman Cody Fulleton. He spent the second half on crutches.

But, by the end of the season, I fully expect the Irish to be in the playoff conversation.

Here's a look at other games from Thursday night.

Mount Si 28, Woodinville 6

The Wildcats spoiled the Falcons' first game in the freshly renovated Pop Keeney Stadium, led by quarterback Ian Ilgenfritz, who completed 8 of 12 passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns.

Coach Charlie Kinnune said he expected his quarterback to have a big season.

Click here for the game story.

Lake Washington 34, Garfield 2

Lake Washington dropped to 3A this year, but opened the year with a win over a 4A school, knocking off Garfield.

It was Steve Supple's first win as the Kangaroos' head coach.

Max Simpkins returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown and Spencer Jackson threw two touchdown passes.

Sumner 42, Auburn Mountainview 3

As a team Sumner had 44 carries for 412 yards and held Auburn Mountainview to just 18 yards of total offense in the second half.

Ballard 15, Sammamish 7

Quarterback Jesse Scott hooked up with Blake Sechler on a pair of deep touchdown passes (36 and 45 yards) to lead the Beavers to a season-opening win against the Totems.

Jefferson 21, Tahoma 7

K.W. Williams threw for one touchdown and rushed for another one in Jefferson's 21-7 victory over Tahoma.

Kennedy Catholic 41, Decatur 7

Orion Prescott and L.J. Jennings each ran for two touchdowns, leading Kennedy Catholic past Decatur.

Permian (Texas) 39, Bethel 21

Here a game story from the Odessa American.

Mt. Spokane 33, Central Valley 27

Here's a big Week 1 upset over in the GSL. You can read part of the story here in The Spokesman-Review.