Thomas Jefferson can’t hold off late comeback from Kent-Meridian

Published 5:25 pm Friday, September 12, 2025

In Tremain Mack’s first season captaining the ship for Thomas Jefferson High School football, they won just one game all year. There was a golden opportunity to get their season started on the right foot against Kent-Meridian, but they let the game slip through their fingers. Kent-Meridian beat the Raiders by a score of 14-13 after a late touchdown and two point conversion sealed the fate of Thomas Jefferson on Sept. 11.

“The message to the group was keep fighting and working hard to get better. We are young and the kids are working hard to get better every day. So I think we just try to leave on a positive note,” Head Coach Tremain Mack said as Thomas Jefferson and Kent-Meridian entered their week two matchup, both coming off pretty brutal losses.

The combined score of the two teams’ week one results was 108-33, so there was a thought that these two teams would play down to the wire.

“I think we just made a couple more plays this week than we did the past few weeks. We simplified some things on defense for some younger kids that allowed them to be a little better and make some plays. That translated to some better defensive plays,” Mack said.

Kent-Meridian has now beaten the Raiders four straight years, dating back to 2021.

The Royals took the opening kick and drove right down the field against the Raider defense. Apart from a four yard loss, the Royals had no problem on their first drive. It took six plays to get to the 12 yard line and on the seventh play, Kent-Meridian’s Luke Garza scored the game’s first touchdown.

The Garza touchdown would be the only points of the first half as both defenses were slowing down the other offenses.

The third quarter was the quarter of Dawnte Smith for Thomas Jefferson. After struggling to get any sort of momentum on offense, Smith returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown. After making the point after try, the Raiders took a 7-6 lead.

From there, Thomas Jefferson recovered a squib kick that Kent-Meridian was never able to secure. Raider quarterback Mabin Guillen, who had been under pressure all evening, found time and space, tossing a seven-yard touchdown pass to Smith.

After recovering the inside kick, Thomas Jefferson scores on a seven yard pitch and catch.

Mabin Guillen to Dawnte Smith, 13-6 TJ on top 4:23 3Q #wafbscores pic.twitter.com/lVqXQffGhB

— Ben Ray (@bigplaybenray) September 12, 2025

On the ensuing Royals drive, Smith made another highlight play, high pointing a pass from Sam Doma and intercepting the pass, giving the Raiders the ball back.

Smith was shaken up on the play, but three impact plays in the span of six minutes of gametime turned the tide for the Raiders.

“DJ is DJ. He is a hard worker and in practices he never wants to come out. He really grasps what we are trying to do,” Mack said. “His football IQ is pretty high so it really helps us. He’s really a great player that has a high upside.”

The Raiders then punted and Kent-Meridian, with six minutes left, drove 70 yards to score their second touchdown of the night and eventually took the lead with just over two minutes remaining.

Guillen did give the Raiders a chance, with no timeouts and just two minutes on the clock. Guillen got his offense to the 26-yard line and ran out of time, just coming up short. Guillen was dodging Royal defenders all night and was frustrated, but Mack wants him to focus on what he did well and success will come.

“He’s hard on himself sometimes, so I try to make sure I remove some of that pressure on him. The thing about Mabin is he’s a fighter, he always comes back stronger than the last time. He never gives up,” Mack said.

Effort has never been a question mark for this Raider team under Mack. To even get to the 26-yard line showed the type of adversity that the Raiders are capable of overcoming.

“This team doesn’t give up. That’s one of the things that is positive. At the end of the day, this group will be pretty special pretty soon. It’ll take some time, but I think they will be pretty special soon,” Mack said.

The Raiders play Decatur and then travel to Auburn Mountainview and Enumclaw Oct. 2. Some tough games on the schedule coming up for Mack and his crew.

“Some of the things I can take moving forward with this group is they got a lot of strength to them. They’ve been through the bumps and bruises on and off the field. These kids are stronger than they think they are,” he said.