By Karrington Kincaid, The Seattle Medium
The setting was cold and electric at Chief Sealth Stadium for the Metro League matchup between the Franklin Quakers (1-3) and the Nathan Hale Raiders (0-5). Both teams leaned heavily on their running games, which were front and center in Thursday night’s closely contested matchup.
Franklin opened the game by leaning on running back Josiah Echols, who picked up 37 yards on the opening drive. The Quakers appeared to be heading for the end zone until a costly holding penalty erased a near-touchdown run and eventually led to a turnover on downs. Nathan Hale responded with solid runs from Hussein Al-Ibadi and Amara Kenneh, combining for 25 yards to reach midfield. But the momentum quickly shifted quickly, as Franklin’s Corde Frazier sacked Nathan Hale quarterback Sean LeMoine for a 10-yard loss. Frazier would follow with a tackle on Kenneh for a 5-yard loss and forced a fumble in the process. Franklin’s Steven Mpila would recover the ball to give the Quakers excellent field position.
The Raiders’ defense tried to answer, with Saif Dahham stopping Vernon Thompson in the backfield to start the next series. But Franklin got a quick score, as Corde Frazier sliced through the Raiders defense for a 20-yard touchdown run. The extra point attempt was no good, but the Quakers ended the first quarter with a 6–0 lead.
Nathan Hale opened the second quarter with a quick three-and-out, giving Franklin the ball back near midfield. However, the Quakers couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity and punted the ball back. Another great defensive effort by the Quakers forced the Raiders to punt, to give Franklin their second offensive possession of the quarter.
Thompson sparked the drive with a 10-yard run, and after a 13-yard gain by Corde Frazier and a 15-yard facemask penalty on Hale, the Quakers moved into the red zone. But a backwards pass by Devion Frazier stalled the drive, handing the ball back to the Raiders.
With under a minute left in the half, Franklin found new life. Devion Frazier connected with Deurian McNeil for a 36-yard gain, then he completed passes to Echols and Royal Olebar-Hughes to move the ball inside the 15-yard line. With 12 seconds left, the Quakers lined up for a field goal, but Nathan Hale’s special teams came up big, blocking the kick. The Raiders had one last shot before halftime, and LeMoine hit Kenneh for a 43-yard gain, but time expired before they could capitalize. The half ended with Franklin still leading 6–0.
The second half began with a bag for the Raiders. Amara Kenneh returned the opening kickoff 47 yards, setting up the offense in Franklin territory. Al-Ibadi followed with strong runs, but the drive stalled near the red zone. On Franklin’s next possession, McNeil picked up 15 yards on the ground, and an unnecessary roughness penalty on Nathan Hale would give the Quakers an additional 10 yards. The Quakers again neared scoring position, but on fourth down, Kenneh batted away a pass in the end zone to give the ball back to the Raiders.
Al-Ibadi and Michael Coleman-Dorsey then led a much-needed scoring drive for the Raiders. Al-Ibadi would cap off the drive with 13-yard touchdown run. Jose Rivera Barahona added the extra point, giving the Raiders a 7–6 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Franklin wasted no time responding. Devion Frazier opened the quarter with a 17-yard run, which was followed by a 29-yard run from Corde Frazier that brought the Quakers to the 5-yard line. Though Echols was tackled for a loss on the next play, he bounced back with a 13-yard touchdown run, as Franklin reclaimed the lead at 12-7, after another missed extra point by the Quakers.
On the ensuing possession, the Raiders pushed deep into Franklin territory but were stopped short of the end zone. They ultimately settled for a 27-yard field goal, cutting the lead to 12–10. With 5:30 left, Franklin’s offense went back to the ground game, chewing up the clock with steady runs and smart play-calling to secure a hard-earned 12–10 victory over the Raiders.
Despite the loss, Nathan Hale head coach Dayne Sampson was very proud with the effort that his team displayed.
“I wanted to congratulate the other team for playing so hard tonight and making the game as competitive as it can be,” said Sampson. “Although we didn’t get the results that we wanted tonight, we definitely learned a lot and are going to grow from it.”
Head coach of the Franklin Quakers Terry Green talked about the resilience of his team, which came into the game with a number of injuries and other challenges that they’ve been dealing with throughout the season.
“We’ve lost players, we came into this game limping,” said Green. “Our main focus was let’s get this win for the seniors and let’s get out of here.”
Franklin will take on the Lakeside on Saturday, October 18th at 12 Noon, while Nathan Hale Raiders will take on Chiefs Sealth on Friday, October 17th at 7:00 pm.
