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By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Publisher

ALABASTER – The Thompson Warriors once again have a finalist for one of the state’s top awards after defensive back Anquon Fegans was named a finalist for the Class 7A Back of the Year award.

The Warriors have had a finalist for the Back of the Year award each year since 2018, winning the award five years in a row before last season.

Now, for the second year in a row, Fegans is listed as a finalist for the premier award at the 7A level, making him one of the top three non-linemen in the state at the highest level of play.

He had a standout season for Thompson, securing seven interceptions, forcing four fumbles and racking up 11 pass-breakups and 71 tackles in his junior year with four tackles for loss.

Fegans now has 138 tackles, six tackles for loss and 16 interceptions over the last two years.

Being named a finalist for the elite award is the latest in a long line of post-season honors that already includes earning spots on the All-County Team, the All-State Team and the MaxPreps Junior All-American Team. He made the first team in all three.

It also marked the second consecutive season that Fegans has been on all three teams.

In addition to his statistics, Fegans was regularly paired against the best receivers in Class 7A, Region 3 and in the state of Alabama, and he impacted the game by taking those options away from opposing quarterbacks in coverage.

He was a key part of a Thompson defense that allowed just 11 points per game in 13 contests, going 11-2 on the road to finishing as the Class 7A runner-up and reaching the Super 7 state championship game for the sixth straight season.

Fegans is rated as a four-star prospect and the sixth-ranked safety nationwide in the Class of 2025 by national recruiting outlet 247Sports.

He decommitted from USC earlier in the year and has 31 scholarship offers from Division I schools, including Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Michigan, Oregon, Ole Miss, LSU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Colorado and Clemson.

Fegans will be up against stiff competition with Foley receiver and Auburn signee Perry Thompson and Central-Phenix City and Auburn signee Cam Coleman. Both were two of the best senior receivers in the country.

Should Fegans win the award, he would be the sixth to win it in the last seven years as a Thompson player after Taulia Tagovailoa won it in back-to-back years, followed by Sawyer Pate, Conner Harrell and Ryan Peppins.

Winners of each classification’s Back and Lineman of the Year will be announced along with the Super All-State Team and Mr. Football award at a special luncheon on Tuesday, Jan. 16 at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel and Spa.