Rainier Beach Edges Out Seattle Prep in Gridiron Battle

By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium

The Rainier Beach Vikings (3-1) took on the Seattle Prep Panthers (3-2) in an evenly matched game that could truly have gone either way.

The game opened with Seattle Prep receiving the kickoff and putting together a steady start on offense. Running back Ezra Maul and quarterback Leo Harnetiaux each picked up short gains, helping move the ball near midfield. But the drive stalled at the Prep 35-yard line, and the Panthers were forced to punt. On Rainier Beach’s opening possession, Damari King broke off an 8-yard run, but Seattle Prep’s Charlie Wattula ended the series with a key third-down sack for a 4-yard loss, leading to a quick punt by the Vikings and a scoreless start for both sides.

The Panthers regained possession and slowly began to find their rhythm. Harnetiaux connected with Win Chandler for a 5-yard gain, but just as the Panthers were starting to move the ball, King swooped in with an interception that ignited the Rainier Beach fans and shifted the momentum back to the Beach Boyz. Rainier Beach quarterback Esquire Williams followed with a 21-yard pass to Marques Illi-Meneese, but a sack by Seattle Prep’s Xaiver Losh, followed by an interception from Dylan Gilbert, stifled the Vikings’ momentum.

After their two big defensive plays, Seattle Prep tried to move the ball again. Harnetiaux rushed for 10 yards, and Reilly Cahill chipped in six more to help move the chains. Despite gaining ground, the drive stalled when Harnetiaux threw an incomplete pass, followed by a sack by King, forcing the Panthers to punt on fourth down.

As the opening quarter wound down, Rainier Beach’s Zevion Watkins rushed for a few yards before Ameer Johnson was tackled for a 3-yard loss as the quarter ended in a scoreless tie.

The second quarter started with the Vikings maintaining possession at their 24-yard line. Williams opened the quarter with a 17-yard run, then followed with a 28-yard burst to set the Beach Boyz up deep in Panther territory. However, Rainier Beach failed to capitalize on the momentum after giving up a sack to Prep’s Matthew Tessin and a fumble by Marques Illi-Meneese at the 23-yard line, which was recovered by the Panthers.

Seattle Prep regained possession deep in their own territory but couldn’t move the ball and punted after a quick series.

Williams responded with a flurry of completions to Mehki Fields, Marques Illi-Meneese, and Ameer Johnson, moving the chains. But the Beach Boyz were hit with a five-yard penalty, and the drive ended with an interception by Seattle Prep’s Matthew Tessin at the 20-yard line.

The back-and-forth action continued with momentum shifting back to the Panthers. Harnetiaux completed a pass to Jack Muska for 6 yards and followed it with a 33-yard completion before Reid Higgins picked up 10 rushing yards to place the Panthers at the Vikings’ 33-yard line. However, two penalties totaling 25 yards pushed Prep back. Cahill answered with a 10-yard run, but tensions on the field escalated, and multiple penalties were called on Rainier Beach—culminating in the ejection of Achilles Reyna.

With under a minute left in the first half, Williams lifted his team’s spirits by completing consecutive passes to Oteko Mwamba and Johnson, followed by a 53-yard touchdown strike to Marques Illi-Meneese to close the half with the Beach Boyz up 6-0.

The second half opened with a 45-yard kickoff return by Mwamba, setting Rainier Beach up at the 45-yard line. King and Williams steadily moved the ball downfield, and King converted on a 4th-and-1 with a 6-yard run. Moments later, Williams completed a 30-yard touchdown pass to Sirjewel Glover, extending the lead to 12-0.

The Panthers responded with a few strong runs by Chandler and Harnetiaux, but the Vikings’ defense held firm. Sacks by Kayvon Jackson and Davontae Redding ended the drive, and Rainier Beach took over.

Williams started the next drive with back-to-back incompletions but quickly rebounded with a 90-yard touchdown pass to Redding, pushing the Vikings’ lead to 18-0 with two minutes left in the third quarter.

Refusing to be rattled by the scoreboard, the Panthers continued to battle. Harnetiaux found his rhythm with a series of completions to Chandler and Beckett Archer, moving the ball downfield. With just 28 seconds left in the quarter and the Panthers threatening, Rainier Beach called a timeout to disrupt their momentum.

The Vikings’ plan worked. Harnetiaux threw back-to-back incomplete passes after the timeout. Chandler capped the third quarter with a 16-yard run.

Seattle Prep opened the fourth quarter with renewed energy. Chandler quickly finished the drive with an 11-yard touchdown run, and Keaton Oseran added the extra point to cut the deficit to 18-6. Riding the momentum, the Panthers forced a shaky series from Rainier Beach. Brooks Meldahl sacked Williams for a 15-yard loss, followed by an incomplete pass and a delay-of-game penalty. Williams connected with Illi-Meneese for 14 yards, but the Vikings were forced to punt.

Prep struggled on their next series with incomplete passes and quickly turned the ball back over to Rainier Beach on downs.

As soon as the Beach Boyz got the ball, King broke free for a 59-yard touchdown run and followed it with a two-point conversion, extending the Vikings’ lead to 26-6.

Prep tried to respond once again, but King had other plans as he recorded a sack on 4th down, forcing the Panthers to turn over the ball on downs.

Williams capitalized immediately, connecting with Glover for 21 yards, then launching a 60-yard touchdown pass to Kayvon Jackson. Watkins added a two-point conversion to stretch the lead to 34-6 with 3:57 left in the game.

The Panthers responded with a 60-yard touchdown from Harnetiaux to Archer, followed by an extra point from Oseran to bring the score to 34-13. Seattle Prep recovered an onside kick, and Rainier Beach was flagged for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty, allowing Prep to advance downfield.

After a 25-yard pass from Harnetiaux to Ben Cunningham, the Panthers capitalized on another penalty and reached the 4-yard line. Harnetiaux ran it in for a touchdown and tacked on the extra point to narrow the gap to 34-21 with just over a minute remaining.

Rainier Beach fumbled with 16 seconds left, and Seattle Prep recovered, hoping to mount one last scoring drive.

However, David Shaw ended the game with a sack, sealing a 34-21 victory for Rainier Beach.

Rainier Beach’s Esquire Williams completed 16 passes for 365 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Vikings. Damari King added 88 rushing yards and a 59-yard touchdown run, while also contributing a sack and an interception on defense. Marques Illi-Meneese had four receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, the Vikings’ pass rush was relentless, with David Shaw, Kayvon Jackson, and Davontae Redding each recording key sacks.

Seattle Prep was led by quarterback Leo Harnetiaux, who completed 16 passes for 202 yards and added 43 rushing yards with two total touchdowns. Win Chandler hauled in six catches for 39 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 35 yards and another score. Beckett Archer added two receptions for 70 yards and a touchdown in Prep’s late push.

Despite the win, Rainier Beach Assistant Head Coach Charles McFarland Jr. said the team still had work to do.

“If we want to win state, we have things to work on,” said McFarland. “This won’t work in the playoffs.”