By RayJaun Stelly, The Seattle Medium
Coming off their 23-0 win against Chief Sealth last week, the Franklin Quakers would face the Lincoln Lynx who beat Lakeside 31-14 last week. The Quakers (1-2) looked to get back-to-back wins coming into week four meanwhile the Lynx, who are 2-1, aimed for their third straight win.
Lincoln would receive possession first and didn’t waste any time establishing their running game against Franklin’s defense. Thriving with the run and possessing the football for five minutes, the Lynx would march down the field to the one-yard line before running back Connor Goulet scored the games’ first touchdown to give Lincoln a 7-0 lead.
Despite giving up a touchdown on the opening drive, Franklin responded immediately as running back James Scott, Jr. helped put the Quakers in scoring position. Just like Lincoln, Franklin got the ball down to the one-yard line and capitalized by handing the ball off to Scott for their first touchdown of the game. Instead of tying the game up at seven, Franklin converted a two-point conversion as they took an 8-7 lead.
With momentum on their side, Franklin would force a turnover on downs courtesy of defensive back Tyrone Jones, who forced a dropped pass in man coverage against a Lincoln wide receiver. Retaining possession on the 36-yard line, Franklin quarterback Lyndon Vaivo handed the ball off to Scott who took off for a 64-yard touchdown to extend the Quaker lead to 14-7.
The back and forth scoring by both teams wouldn’t be the case going forward as the defense from both sides took over the game. To start the second quarter, Franklin defensive back Ramon Jones intercepted a pass from Lincoln quarterback Billy Versaw. The Quakers would begin their drive at the 20-yard line and make their way down to the five-yard line, where Lincoln’s defensive front would force a fumble and recovered the ball once the referees cleared the pile.
The defenses of both teams had the offenses completely out of sync. From bad snaps to the quarterback resulting in negative yards on Franklin’s end, to incomplete passes to receivers by Lincoln which caused turnover on downs the offenses struggled to get back on track. Although the offenses had gone stagnant, Franklin remained in front but the bad snaps throughout the quarter would come back to haunt them.
Two plays after Vaivo completed a 30-yard pass, a bad snap by Franklin allowed Lincoln’s Eddie Mckay to recover the unforced fumble and return it 70 yards for a touchdown to tie the game up at 14 going into halftime.
The Quakers received ball first to start the second half and went three and out. But a miscue by Lincoln’s return team allowed the Quakers to recover the ball and regain possession. But the Lynx defense held strong as they slowed down Franklin’s rushing attack with tackles for losses.
The Quakers’ Tyrone Jones, who found himself in man coverage, broke up another pass attempt as he forced another turnover on downs, as both defenses held their opposition scoreless in the third quarter. With the game still tied at 14 it left fans wondering which team would break the ice.
Lincoln began the fourth quarter with possession of the ball, and what felt like was a scoring drive with the ball on the one-yard line on fourth-and-goal. However, Franklin’s defensive line would come up with a goal line stop forcing a turnover on downs as the Quakers took over possession of the ball.
Stopping the Lynx was a morale booster for Franklin, but the Quakers excitement was short-lived as Lincoln’s defense blitzed quarterback Vaivo, who stepped out of bounds in the endzone while trying to avoid being sacked. The play resulted in a safety as the Lynx took a 16-14 lead.
Receiving the free kick following the safety, Lincoln returned the ball to the 30-yard line to begin their next drive. Getting the ball to the 20-yard line by way of rushing, Lynx quarterback Versaw would scramble out of the pocket before finding wide receiver Marshall Longtin for a 20-yard touchdown pass to increase their lead to 23-14 with eight minutes left in the game.
Lincoln’s defense would keep Franklin out of the endzone for the rest of the game, as they earned their third win of the season. Franklin looks to regroup and return to action next week against Cleveland, while Lincoln will face West Seattle.
