TACOMA — The last time the Capital High School girls flag football team stepped foot on the Mount Tahoma turf in Tacoma, the Cougars walked off the field as the state runners-up, losing in the best-of-three finals to Woodinville on Feb. 15, 2025.
A year later, the Cougars made some magic in the same building.
Capital, the 11th seed in the District 3 3A Tournament, pulled off two upsets in the first round and quarterfinals Friday to secure its spot in the 3A State Tournament next week. The Cougars got off to a hot start in the first round against sixth-seeded Gig Harbor before holding on to win 35-21, and they followed it up by thumping third-seeded Mount Tahoma 42-0 in a winner-to-state contest.
“Right now, we have more intensity by far than we’ve had all season. We’re staying focused, but we’re happy with where we’re at and we want to keep the ball rolling,” Capital head coach Tristan Redman said.
Redman acknowledged that on any given night, it’s a coin flip whether the star of the night could be Ashlynn O’Hara or Pippin Crump.
In the first round against Gig Harbor, it was Crump who lit up the scoreboard, catching four touchdowns on six total receptions for 55 yards, intercepting two passes and recording a team-high nine flag pulls.
Then in the quarters against Mount Tahoma, it was O’Hara’s turn. The junior inside receiver had a strong opener with six catches, 63 yards and a touchdown, but her encore was epic, picking off three passes and returning all three for touchdowns while catching a pair of scores on offense.
“They’re lethal on both sides of the ball. A lot of our offense definitely revolves around them,” Redman said.
The Cougars, winners of five straight after a 7-8 start to the year, knocked off two opponents they had previously lost to this season, both by a score of 21-7 and both on Jan. 20 at Gig Harbor’s Roy Anderson Field.
In the first round of the district tournament, the first four combined possessions belonged to Crump. She scored a receiving touchdown, snatched an interception, nabbed another touchdown catch, and then ripped away another interception.
O’Hara added a touchdown catch in the first half, and Crump secured her third as Capital stormed to a 28-7 halftime lead. Crump caught her fourth touchdown in the second half. Gig Harbor’s offense found a bit of life with a pair of scores in the second half, but it was too much Crump as Capital prevailed and moved on to see another game that evening.
“I think I just got locked in on the bus. I had my music in and I was thinking about the game and about doing super well,” Crump said, adding that her playlist of choice on the bus featured a heavy dose of Rihanna. “My team was hyped, and I had constant reassurance.”
Quarterback Tate Hanson finished with five touchdown passes and one interception on 17 for 31 passing with 136 passing yards in the first game. Kendyl Gritton added 38 yards on the ground.
But the Cougars were only getting warmed up.
Against Mount Tahoma, Capital didn’t jump out to quite as electric a start as the first round, but a Crump interception led to a touchdown catch by O’Hara midway through the first half. For the second time of the night, Crump picked off a pass for a second straight possession.
On fourth and goal, Hanson found Gritton for a touchdown to make it 14-0 Capital at halftime.
In the second half, Capital’s defense became its offense. On consecutive snaps, O’Hara read the quarterback’s eyes, stepped in front of the throw and returned the turnover for a touchdown, deflating the T-Birds sideline and doubling the score in a blink.
O’Hara added her third pick-six of the night with four minutes left in the second half, and Annie Flynn jumped in on the turnover party with a pick — Capital’s sixth of the game.
O’Hara capped off her electric game with a touchdown catch in the final two minutes, securing her first career five-touchdown game.
“I don’t know what to say. I think I was really determined to win,” O’Hara said of her career night, which included six total touchdowns across two games. “The two teams we played today, we lost to them last time. We kind of had something to prove.”
Hanson accounted for eight touchdown passes and 236 passing yards with just one interception Friday night. Capital’s defense forced eight turnovers in the two games, four of which coming from Crump and three from O’Hara.
“They’re always going to make plays. They’re always going to leave it all out on the field,” Redman said of his star duo. “Ashlynn and Pippin are game changers.”
Before Capital can make the trip for the state tournament, the Cougars will look to finish off a magical district tournament run Saturday against second-seeded White River in the semifinals at Mount Tahoma High School.
