Franklin Quakers 2023 Team Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Head Coach TL Green's Franklin Quakers traveled to Ballard High School to face off against the Beavers in a friendly scrimmage on Thursday. It was a beautiful day and both sides had plenty of fresh young bodies eager to play real football against a true opponent. This article will preview the Quakers' season in the 3A Metro Sound Division, where they've turned their program around after a 7-year winless streak where they struggled to get fresh bodies and field competitive units. they finished second overall with a 6-1 league record, going 8-2 overall. They scored the most points in the division with 360, and allowed the fewest with just 137. However, they narrowly missed out on the divison title, finishing 2nd to Lincoln (Seattle) despite the same league record- who beat them 23-14 in September to claim the heqd to head tiebreaker. Franklin enters the season with their work cut out for them- </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They'll face off against one new division opponent in Roosevelt, and the 8-man division is rounded out by Ingraham, Franklin, Chief Sealth, Lakeside, West Seattle, Nathan Hale, and Cleveland. Roosevelt is eyeing the promotion spot after a disappointing year that saw them moved down, but Franklin is the team that expects to go up more than anyone; they've featured the most continuity in their coaching staff and seem the safest program to bet on, even after the biggest losses in their program changing 2022 Senior Class. They'll need to find offensive production in new ways after seeing division MVP RB James "Duke" Scott graduate to play college football, having received an offer from Montana State University Northern along with other all-league standouts LB Dave Pugh, QB Lyndon Vaivao, and WR Carmonte Banks. He also received offers from several junior colleges, awakening the recruiting side of the South Seattle-based program. Here are several players who will feature as the program continues to build a culture and looks to further their newfound winning ways.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While I only featured a few bonafide studs I could properly evaluate, there are several more players who showed potential and look to be key contributors.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There's a new RB who wore number 80, whose name is Steven Plia at 5'7" 155, a 2026 prospect who recently moved from Greece. He's a shifty player new to football that comes from a soccer background but has tons of room to grow. RB Sir Avonte Tucker at 5'9" 170 is a bigger back in the 2025 class wearing number 23 who runs angry. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There's a big center who looks every bit of the part on the OL, Chester Carrington at 6'1" 245 wearing number 70. There's another good-looking athlete in OL/DL Jaylon Turner at 5'10" 230, a 2024 prospect who wore number 3, also new to the state from Baton Rouge, LA. 54 is also sizable at OL in Ebrima Sangyang at 6'2" 305, another 2024 player poised for a good senior year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A DB wearing 80 is named Ebrima Dukureh at 5'11" 160, a 2025 prospect who made some nice, physical plays. There's also a 2024 player named Emmit Ramambason-Hendren 5'10 175 who was mentioned as a dude.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Overall, this is the deepest Franklin team we have ever seen, and there are tons of exciting, optimistic questions to ask for the program that's been held dormant for so long.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":874186,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Manaia Aumoeualogo","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'4u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"2406","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Franklin","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"As I wrote about Manaia before, I recognized his unteachable size and hard-fought production as a nose tackle. However, I was able to understand him far better as a player once meeting him in person. He's a mature and intelligent player who understands that his physical dominance alone can't impact his team nearly as much as he can being a key cog and team leader, and shows leadership qualities in all of the best ways. He held his team to a high standard and was like an extension of help to his coaches on the entire afternoon, from the quality of the pregame speech huddle, individual drills, walkthroughs, sidelines, and communicating and understanding schemes and concepts to younger players, and leading by example by talking it up between plays. He's able to do this having earned the respect of his peers, who're undoubtedly a young bunch but appreciate the hardness in his attitude as a true passionate player who cares about their team ought to have. He also dominated each time he made it on the field, taking up several OL and being unselfish to force plays back to his teammates. He's able to engulf double teams, play unselfish and still make tackles at and behind the line of scrimmage, using leverage impressively against much smaller opponents to effect the game as much as possible. He was effective early in the run game portion of the scrimmage, mixing up his stances and moving from 0 to 3 technique to keep Ballard's smaller offensive line off guard. He caused immense pressure to begin the full scrimmage, looking like a true takeover type of player. He will be the heart and soul of this Quaker team and a big sleeper who should rise in the 2024 class.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_1_player_details_player_name":"Manny Aumoeualogo","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_1_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_1_player_details_height":"6'1u0022","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_1_player_details_position":"2406","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_1_player_details_school":"Franklin","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_1_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_1_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"While his older brother is the veteran leader, the younger Manny is soaking up all the learning and applying it quickly. While he started the day quiet and feeling his first high school action out, he took over on a few plays in the scrimmage, getting hyped after an early tackle for loss that saw him come out of his shell and become a force the rest of the day. He played in both the varsity and JV sections of the scrimmage, holding up and then dominating with his gifted size and pure aggression. While he's not as big as Manaia yet, he clearly has the similar aggression with a bit more quickness and tons more untapped potential. He's got a full high school career ahead of him to prove himself, and he should receive more attention just because he's been found sooner. He could be the best freshman in the division and one of the better 2026 DL statewide. The brothers are relishing the opportunity to play together, as Manaia will be the first to exclaim. The future is bright for Manny, the Aumoeualogo family and Franklin.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_2_player_details_player_name":"Avery Stewart","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_2_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"5'10u0022","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"2409","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"Franklin","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_2_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_2_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Stewart is my favorite early candidate to be the offensive leader of this team, picking up where Duke and Vaivao left off. He recently moved from New York, where he's been a free safety and athlete for most of his career; but has embraced the challenge of leading the offense as the signal caller for Franklin. He's growing into a field general role, but throws a nice ball for a new QB, and has plus athleticism in some great shiftiness and speed that will hurt defenses and their coordinators' gameplans in the division this year. He has big potential and is an exciting unknown so far.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["338839"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Banks' older brother Carmonte was a big-time perimeter player last year for the Quakers and Bubba is looking to do the same. He was a pleasure to speak with, balancing confidence with an upbeat and collected personality. I wrote about him as a breakout pick for fall, and while the offense didn't get to move the chains as the scrimmage just ran plays from the 50, Banks' YAC skillset and strength remain big reasons for optimism. His overall athleticism proved great in person, and he had a few really nice coverage plays in the scrimmage oplaying at safety, including a tipped pass that was nearly intercepted. He's also a tough player to grade so far, but he could rise up the rankings quickly with a slew of big performances in the fall. The Stewart to Banks connection could give Franklin a new look on offense.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":4,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-648fe4d0a83f0"} /-->