Under the lights at Chief Sealth Stadium on a cold and charged Thursday night, the Nathan Hale Raiders (0-6) came within striking distance of their first win of the season, but ultimately fell to the Franklin Quakers (2-3) in a tightly contested 12–10 game marked by defense, field position, and big plays on both sides.
Known for their ground-heavy offenses, both teams leaned on their rushing attacks throughout the game. Nathan Hale opened with a solid first defensive stand after Franklin drove deep behind the legs of Josiah Echols. A holding penalty wiped out a near-touchdown for the Quakers, and the Raiders defense held firm to force a turnover on downs.
Hale’s offense responded with early momentum from running backs Hussein Al-Ibadi and Amara Kenneh, who combined for 25 yards on their opening possession. But a pair of big defensive plays by Franklin’s Corde Frazier—one a sack, the other a forced fumble—gave the Quakers control. Franklin capitalized with a 20-yard touchdown run by Frazier to take a 6–0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Hale’s defense stepped up again. Saif Dahham made a key stop in the backfield, and Kenneh later broke up a pass attempt in the end zone to end a Quaker threat. Offensively, however, the Raiders struggled to sustain drives. Just before halftime, Franklin quarterback Devion Frazier connected on a 36-yard pass to Deurian McNeil to enter Hale territory, but the Raiders’ special teams unit came up with a huge play, blocking a field goal attempt to keep the score at 6–0.
Hale nearly flipped the script before the half, as quarterback Sean LeMoine hit Kenneh for a 43-yard completion. But the clock ran out before the Raiders could capitalize.
Coming out of halftime, the Raiders showed energy and execution. Kenneh returned the opening kickoff 47 yards, and Al-Ibadi powered through for key gains. Although the drive stalled, Hale’s defense held strong again. Kenneh broke up a fourth-down pass attempt in the end zone to keep Franklin off the board.
The Raiders found the end zone late in the third quarter, as Al-Ibadi capped a determined drive with a 13-yard touchdown. Kicker Jose Rivera Barahona converted the extra point to give Hale its first lead of the night, 7–6.
Franklin answered quickly to start the fourth. Devion and Corde Frazier strung together runs of 17 and 29 yards, setting up Echols for a 13-yard touchdown. The Quakers missed the extra point, leaving the door open for Hale at 12–7.
The Raiders responded once again, marching into the red zone before the Franklin defense tightened. Barahona hit a 27-yard field goal to cut the deficit to two with just over five minutes remaining. But Franklin controlled the ball from there, using short runs and smart clock management to secure the win.
Despite the narrow loss, Nathan Hale head coach Dayne Sampson remained positive.
“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 result we wanted, we definitely learned a lot and are going to grow from it.”
Franklin head coach Terry Green praised his team’s toughness through adversity.
“We’ve lost players, we came into this game limping,” Green said. “Our main focus was let’s get this win for the seniors and get out of here.”
Franklin faces Lakeside on Saturday, October 18 at 12:00 p.m., while Nathan Hale will meet Chief Sealth on Friday, October 17 at 7:00 p.m.
