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Thompson and Hoover went toe-to-toe in another epic clash for the region title, but a blocked extra point in overtime proved to be the difference as the Warriors dropped their third overtime game in 2024. (For the Reporter/Kelsea Schafer)

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

ALABASTER – For the third time in the 2024 season, the Thompson Warriors found themselves in an overtime situation. And for the third time, it ended in defeat.

Thompson lost 27-26 to the Hoover Buccaneers in overtime on Oct. 18 at Warrior Stadium as a blocked extra point gave the Class 7A, Region 3 championship to the Bucs.

“I’m proud of them. They played their guts out,” Thompson coach Mark Freeman said of his team. “You just hope as a season goes, we get a break or two along the way and we take advantage of things. That was a good game tonight, and we’ll both be moving on.”

Hoover got off to a strong start on the first drive, willing its way down the field and complementing it with big plays in the air like a catch and run to get to the 20.

JR Mosley capped the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run up the middle to put the Bucs up 7-0 with 6:02 left in the first.

Thompson started out the ensuing drive strong with a big Mike Dujon run to the Warriors 45 and a Trent Seaborn pass to Brooks Byars inside the 35.

However, the momentum stopped there as the Bucs stopped a 4th-and-4 play short of the line to gain.

From there, Hoover moved consistently down the field once again, converting four first downs and draining time off the clock.

The last of those first downs was a Jonah Winston catch at the 19 to get the Bucs in the red zone. However, that was as far as they got as the Thompson defense locked in to force a 43-yard field goal.

The Bucs managed to drain the kick and made the lead 10-0 with 8:04 left in the half, but that stop was when the Warriors started to shift the tide of the game.

Thompson couldn’t get moving on its next drive and punted after gaining a total of two yards in three plays.

But then, disaster struck for Hoover as the returner muffed the punt, and Payton Lewis landed on the ball at the Bucs 25.

Not much changed for the Warriors after moving into plus territory as they missed a couple of passes in between a 3-yard gain.

The one thing that did was that John Alan McGuire came out to kick and not punt, and he nailed it from 38 yards put to cut the deficit to 10-3 with 5:56 left in the second.

Hoover continued to succeed in late down situations with a pair of fourth down conversions on the offense’s ensuing drive. The third time proved to be the charm for the Warriors as they forced Hoover’s first punt after that.

With 1:43 left to work with, Seaborn and the offense locked in for their best drive of the game and orchestrated the two-minute drill to near perfection.

He found freshman Dedrick Kimbrough early in the drive to get Thompson to the 44 and then again to the 30-yard line.

The Warriors then got to the 5-yard line, and Dujon pushed through the pack to reach the end zone and tie the game up at 10-10 with 18 seconds left.

That score line held through the half after the Bucs took a knee, giving Thompson a chance to capitalize off back-to-back drives. However, the Warriors went backwards four yards in three plays, leading to a punt instead.

Hoover continued to dictate the tempo on the ground and succeed late in downs after getting a pair of third down conversion runs to advance the ball down the field.

Thompson nearly got a stop after forcing a fourth-and-2 on the Bucs 30, but Jonah Winston took a direct snap along the left edge and into the end zone for the touchdown, putting Hoover on top 17-10 with 5:47 left in the third.

Seaborn then locked in on the ensuing drive, first finding Byars at the sticks for an early first down and then launching a 49-yard pass to Darion Moseley.

Moseley’s run ended at the 9-yard line, and Dujon took over from there to get the Warriors on the 1. After that, Seaborn called his own number on a bootleg to tie the game up at 17-17 with 4:20 left in the third.

Thompson kept the momentum going on defense with an interception by Terry Robinson as the ball sailed right into his hands on a third down pass.

However, the Warriors couldn’t move the ball forward and went back to the 37-yard line over the course of the next three plays.

Freeman made the call to send out McGuire for the 50-yard kick, and his faith was rewarded when the ball just squeezed into the bottom left corner for the 20-17 lead with 1:41 left in the third.

The Bucs returned the ensuing kickoff to their own 36, but they could only get 19 yards down the field before they were forced to punt.

The punt left the Warriors on their own 3-yard line, but Dujon quickly improved the field position with a 40-yard run on the first play of the series.

Just when it looked like Thompson had momentum from the big run, disaster struck. Seaborn’s pass took a deflection off the covered man and into Hoover’s waiting arms at its own 40.

The Bucs punished the mistake as they embarked on another five-minute drive kickstarted by a deep pass on third-and-long to the Warriors 25.

Thompson’s defense locked in and got a red zone stop, but Hoover still managed to tie up the game at 20-20 with a 29-yard field goal with 3:19 remaining.

The Warriors punted on their ensuing drive after failing to capitalize off a Moseley first-down catch, but just like in so many games this season, the defense stepped up, and specifically, Anquon Fegans.

Fegans positioned himself behind the receiver’s route and caught the overthrown ball like a punt for the interception with 44 seconds left.

Thompson went to Fegans on the offensive end for a Hail Mary, but he couldn’t come down with it inside the 5-yard line.

That sent the Warriors to overtime for the third time this season.

After Thompson got the ball to start the extra period, Seaborn found Moseley along the left side on second down for the touchdown, putting the Warriors in front 26-20.

However, that’s when it all went south.

Hoover blocked the extra point to keep the score at 26-20, meaning a touchdown and an extra point was all it needed to win.

The Bucs found the end zone off a 10-yard Winston run and nailed the point after to take the 27-26 win and the region championship.

After the game, Freeman revealed they were forced to use a backup holder since their starting holder was out sick all week. He owned up to letting the backup take the field but also defended and consoled him, saying it was more than just the blocked extra point and he would be alright.

“We had our chances to win that game in regular time, so that game didn’t come down to that play,” Freeman said. “Everybody might remember that, but it comes down to other plays that we didn’t make. I love our kids, I love that little guy and I told him the sun’s coming up in the morning and we’ve got to go, we’ve got one more game and we’ve got to get ourselves ready to go in the playoffs.”

Freeman pointed to other areas of improvement, namely lining up and running plays correctly, but he believes if this team stays the course and continues to work, they’ll get to the program’s championship standard.

“We’re a lot better right now than we was when the year started,” Freeman said. “All you can ask your kids to do is do their best. Our kids did their best. I wouldn’t try my kids for nobody around. They are such a joy to work with. It’s just a matter of continuing to grow and mature and gotta make some of the plays in the big games out there.”

Thompson will host its final regular season game next Friday, Oct. 25 at Warrior Stadium as the team welcomes the Prattville Lions. The Warriors are now guaranteed to be a No. 2 seed and host a home playoff game on Nov. 8.

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