Franklin Pierce’s Bryson Allen is the South Sound’s rushing leader. ‘Home-run ability’
Don’t count on your secondary to save you from Bryson Allen.
If the safeties are left chasing the No. 2 stitched on the back of Franklin Pierce’s star runner, it’s already too late.
One cut into the second level is all it takes for Allen to turn a football game into a track meet. House calls are the new norm in South Tacoma, powered by raw athleticism and vision Cardinals head coach Trevor Hanson hasn’t guided before. It’s easy to see — both on turf and on paper.
“Sometimes, when I come to the huddle, I look at (Bryson) in his eyes and go, ‘Bro, you’ve got to go score,’” Cardinals quarterback Jeremiah Orcutt told The News Tribune. “Whether the blocks are there or not, because I know he can go do it. My expectations for him are up here, and I want him to exceed that every time.”
Allen is the South Sound’s rushing leader. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound senior has taken 153 carries for 1,779 yards and 27 touchdowns entering the 2A state tournament, the engine of a Franklin Pierce offense averaging more than 51 points per game. Surprise, surprise: The reigning 2A SPSL MVP again looks like the league’s best player.
It’s been his goal since the opening days of Franklin Pierce’s August practices — reach 2,000 yards, Allen said Wednesday with a smile. “That’d be amazing.”
But Allen isn’t alone. Franklin Pierce’s Power-T offense features a stable of running backs built on physicality and deception, totaling nearly 4,000 rushing yards (3,943) in 2025. If their MVP isn’t the team’s fastest player, 5-foot-5 senior Ja’mire Ford is. Senior Anthony Lomiga has eclipsed 500+ rushing and 200+ receiving yards, and sophomore Forrest Wall is the up-and-coming bruiser. That’s without mentioning Orcutt, the versatile quarterback just as comfortable running as he is throwing.
“You’re trying to figure out what traits fit best where, and how we can utilize each of them,” Hanson said. “Ja’mire… He’s one of the fastest kids on the field. Forrest (is) one of our better blockers.
“And Bryson’s probably the most complete back, which is why we give it to him 150 times a year and he’s got 15 yards a carry, or whatever it is.”
Technically, it’s a shade below 12 yards per carry. But if he’s moving the chains for a first down every time he touches the ball, on average, what’s the difference?
Franklin Pierce throws the ball only three to four times per game, but Allen has flashed better hands as a senior — blossoming into a more-than-capable three-down back, if he wasn’t already. He’s processing plays faster in a chaotic Power-T offense, selling fakes, and bulking in the weight room.
What most defenses discover: You can’t put all of your eggs in Allen’s basket. And if Ford, Lomiga, or Dolan aren’t getting the ball, either, Franklin Pierce is more than comfortable keeping the ball in Orcutt’s hands.
“You can’t count Jeremiah out,” Hanson said. “You have to have a guy (covering him), because if you don’t, we’ll find you. He’ll make a play happen if you don’t respect him.
“He has that chip on his shoulder, and he also holds that mantle of leadership, because he is being very selfless to play quarterback for us.”
When he isn’t directing the huddle, Orcutt lurks at free safety. Allen plays both sides, too, at linebacker, though another monster season in the backfield perhaps overshadows his two-way prowess. The RB/LB has tackled 20.5 for a loss this fall, posting career-highs in tackles (57) and sacks (6). Allen caught his first-ever interception in a 53-6 win over Steilacoom on Oct. 9 before tormenting Clover Park two weekends later with 10 tackles, three sacks, and a forced fumble.
“I think what makes him successful as a linebacker is that he is a running back,” Hanson said. “Just seeing the play from the opposite side. You see the cutback lane, you see the fit from a linebacker’s perspective. He can diagnose the play backward, as well.
“That same thing, his wiggle, getting through to score… he has that wiggle to get through the line of scrimmage, to get into the backfield, and make tackles for loss. Speed translates all across the board on a football field.”
LOSS IN WEEK 4 THRILLER FUELS STAMPEDE
Not every all-time thriller has a happy ending.
Let’s back up to Week 4, when the Cardinals stood in shock three yards away from victory. The defending undefeated 2A SPSL champions trailed visiting Orting, 43-42, when their inside run was stuffed at the 3-yard line on the game’s final play.
They traded 28 total points in the final three minutes. Allen ran for 367 yards, easily a career-high, with four touchdowns. He refused to go down on a remarkable, 86-yard score with 2:19 to play — lifting the Cardinals to a six-point lead before an improbable, unthinkable Orting comeback.
“(We took) that on the chin,” Orcutt said. “We didn’t play our game in that game.
“They didn’t beat us. We beat ourselves.”
Allen agreed, adding it was a loss they needed. The Cardinals have rolled their six opponents in the weeks since by a combined score of 345-68, but Franklin Pierce (8-2) could just as easily be 10-0. Before their loss to eventual league-champion Orting, the Cardinals fell to 2A-power Lynden at home, 21-20 — both by a single point. No. 4 Orting, No. 6 Lynden, and No. 7 Franklin Pierce were seeded accordingly in the 2A state tournament that kicks off Friday night.
“It was getting us back to what makes us a successful program, and those things are doing the work, doing the hard things,” Hanson said. “Putting the extra time into study, trusting our teammates to do their jobs and not having to play outside of yourself. Because when you try to do someone else’s job, you’re not doing your job.
“It wasn’t anything major. It was just committing back to the process of what makes us successful.”
REMATCH! W.F. WEST VISITS SOUTH TACOMA
The Cardinals are ready to run it back.
No. 7 Franklin Pierce hosts No. 10 W.F. West in Friday night’s 2A Round of 16, where the Cardinals can book their return trip to the state quarterfinals. It’s a rematch of last year’s surprising 2A quarterfinal loss to the Bearcats, 27-8, dominated by now-graduated W.F. West QB Gage Brumfield.
“They are such a well-coached program, and that’s why we’re both here again,” Hanson said. “There’s no mistake that we’re matched up again in the state playoffs, because they’re a really good team. They stress (defenses) and they rally to the ball on their defense like no other team I’ve seen on film. Kudos to them. It’s going to be another good one.”
Forecasts predict light rain at kickoff. Hanson expects his playoff game to unfold similarly to the rest, when an overpowering run game paired with physical line play often wins out.
“I think we’re all excited to go against them again and get our redemption from last year,” Allen said. “We thought we were going to roll in and take over W.F. West at home, but they obviously worked harder than us.
“We’re paying it back this year.”
This story was originally published November 14, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Franklin Pierce’s Bryson Allen is the South Sound’s rushing leader. ‘Home-run ability’."
