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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

Once again, the Thompson Warriors find themselves among the nation’s best in the preseason national rankings.

High School Football America ranked the Warriors number 15 in the nation in their preseason top 300 rankings, while MaxPreps ranked the Warriors 30th in the nation in their top 100.

In both polls, the four-time defending 7A state champions are the top team in Alabama. Their closest competition is Central-Phenix City, who was ranked 59th in the country by MaxPreps and 62nd by HSFA

Thompson is up 21 spots from their 36th ranked finish in the final HSFA rankings in 2022, while they are up 10 spots from rank 40 in the MaxPreps rankings.

They will also once again face multiple national ranked opponents throughout their regular season. The Warriors will face IMG Academy from Florida in Week 2 on August 31, and the Ascenders are ranked 4th in the MaxPreps rankings and 5th in the HSFA rankings in the 2023 preseason. Thompson’s regional rival Hoover is ranked 63rd in the MaxPreps rankings and is unranked in the HSFA rankings.

Thompson won their fourth straight Class 7A State Championship in 2022 by beating Auburn in the state title game, 49-24 at Jordan-Hare Stadium. That game capped off an 11-3 campaign where the Warriors finished second in the region behind Hoover, who Thompson later beat in the 7A semifinals to reach the state title game.

The Warriors also took down perennial powerhouses Hewitt-Trussville and Clay-Chalkville in the regular season before an unbeaten run through the playoffs where they beat Huntsville, Vestavia Hills, Hoover and Auburn to win the title.

That playoff run came off the back of eighth grade quarterback Trent Seaborn, who took over after Zach Sims’ phenomenal regular season and put up impressive numbers, including a Class 7A State Championship record five touchdowns in an MVP performance in the title game.

Thompson lost stars such as Peter Woods, Seth Hampton and Tony Mitchell on the defense and Korbyn Williams on the offense, but the Warriors also bring back stars like AJ Green and Michael Dujon in the backfield, Deuce Oliver and Kolby Hearn at receiver and defensive anchors like Kaleb Harris, Jayden Davis and Anquon Fegans.

Thompson will also have both Sims and Seaborn under center this year, and they will rely on their experience in big moments to guide Thompson back to the state championship game under head coach Mark Freeman for the sixth straight season.