Game Preview: Franklin vs. Garfield

It isn’t often that a team gets a chance at redemption in the playoffs in the world of high school sports, but when Garfield meets Franklin in the Sea-King District championship game tonight, the Bulldogs will be looking to avenge two regular season losses. Evergreen State Preps takes a closer look at tonight’s game.

Location:

Tonight, February 22nd at 8:15 p.m. at Juanita High School

Record:

Garfield- 17-6 overall (10-4 in league) in Kingco 4A

Franklin- 20-2 overall (14-0 in league) in Kingco 4A

Last meeting:

Franklin won at Old Lincoln High School 79-55 on February 8th.

Outlook:

Franklin has been one of the top two teams in the state all year, due in part to their undefeated performance against teams from the state of Washington. The Quakers are led by junior point guard Peyton Siva (19.5 ppg) who is one of the top players at his position in the Class of 2009. Siva may be the Quakers’ leader, but it is definitely not a one man show at Franklin. Junior guards Sterling Carter (12.7 ppg) and Chris Holmes (15.6 ppg) give the Quakers two experienced scorers, while 6-foot-4 freshman Lavell White (11.2 ppg). The Quakers’ roster is stacked, and Franklin is poised to make a deep run next week in the state tournament, no matter what happens in this game.

While Franklin has plenty of scoring options, with four players averaging double digits, Garfield is led by two main scorers. Freshmen phenomenon Tony Wroten is considered the top overall player in the class of 2010, and is averaging 21 points per game. Junior guard Deandre Taylor is also a solid contributor with 16.4 points per game. In their blowout loss to Franklin in early February, those two combined for only 21 points. The Bulldogs will need stellar performance from both to knock of the Quakers and win the Sea-King District championship.

Prediction:

Tony Wroten has championship of all kinds in his future, but he will have to wait another year to get his first high school title. Franklin just has too many options for Garfield to stop. Franklin wins 73-61.