Thompson defense bottles up Mountain Brook in battle of top teams
Published 10:51 pm Friday, September 25, 2020
Thompson linebacker Jeremiah Alexander earned this year's Player of the Year award in Shelby County after totaling 29 tackles for loss this season for the state champion Thompson Warriors. (File)
No. 1 Thompson will travel to Oak Mountain this Friday for a county and region showdown in this week's Game of the Week. (File)
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By GRAHAM BROOKS | Special to the Reporter
ALABASTER – In a battle between No. 1 teams, Thompson flexed its muscles and never trailed shutting out Mountain Brook 31-0 on Friday, Sept. 25.
Thompson wasn’t forced to punt until the second quarter and scored on its first three offensive possessions racing out to a 21-0 lead at the end of the opening quarter.
Thompson head coach Mark Freeman was leery of a possible letdown after the Warriors’ big win against Hewitt-Trussville last week but that was not the case.
“I’m proud of our kids,” he said. “They came out after a big win and you worry about a letdown, but I don’t think we had a letdown at all.”
Thompson starting quarterback Conner Harrell finished the game 17-of-21 for 217 yards and two touchdowns, seeing limited action in the second half to lead the offense.
The Warriors first two touchdowns came on a 27-yard run from Jarrett Crockett to go up 7-0, and then after the Thompson defense forced a Mountain Brook three-and-out, Harrell stepped up and threw a picture-perfect 45-yard touchdown to Ryan Peppins on the first play of the Warriors’ second offensive possession.
“I think we came out good and their defensive coordinator does a great job,” Freeman said. “He was at Hoover and since he’s got here, he’s done a great job. But you just have to go in the game and see what he’s going to do because those kids can do a lot of different things on defense. Our kids came out prepared and we hit a couple plays that we felt like we had a shot on during the week that we happen to hit.”
Thompson’s defense was a huge factor all night as Mountain Brook finished with just 31 yards of total offense, two turnovers and three first downs.
Up 14-0, Thompson’s final touchdown of the first quarter was set up after Jeremiah Alexander recovered a Mountain Brook fumble at the 7-yard line.
A few plays later, Harrell threw his second touchdown on a 7-yard pass to Zac Johnson to give the Warriors a 21-0 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
“If you’ve shut out Mountain Brook, you’ve done a good job,” Freeman said. “We’ve got to get better every week on defense, and I think we got better tonight.”
Thompson’s final 10 points in the game came after a 53-yard drive was capped off by a 1-yard touchdown run from Sam Reynolds and a 40-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
The Warriors finished with 375 yards of total offense and averaged 6.4 yards per play.
Thompson moved to 6-0 on the season and will take on Vestavia-Hills on Friday, Oct. 2.
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