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Thompson's DJ Douglas, above, had three interceptions to help the Warriors pull off a dominant win against Hewitt-Trussville to earn a spot in the semifinals of the 7A playoffs. (Reporter photo/Keith McCoy)

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor 

ALABASTER – Last time Thompson and Hewitt-Trussville met at Warrior Stadium three weeks ago, it took an unreal comeback for the Warriors to pull off a comeback win by a final score of 63-49 after trailing 28-0 early in the second quarter.

On Friday, Nov. 16, it took no such luck, as the Warriors dominated from start to finish to pick up a 37-13 victory to advance to the semifinals where they will meet the Hoover Buccaneers for the second year in a row.

“They stayed a step ahead of the game tonight,” head coach Mark Freeman said after the game. “I’m just proud of what they’ve done. They worked hard all week and we felt good going in.”

Thompson’s confidence showed very early in the game on both sides of the ball, as the Warriors seemingly picked up right where they left off a few weeks ago against the Huskies.

The defense, which struggled in the first half of that first matchup before flipping a switch, had a much better start in the rematch and forced a three-and-out on Hewitt’s first drive of the game.

That allowed the Warriors to set up their offense without having to face another early deficit, which was lethal for quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa.

In just two plays, Tagovailoa took the Warriors 53 yards on a 46-yard pass to Michael Pettway over the middle of the field and a 7-yard shovel pass to Pettway one play later for a touchdown that put Thompson on top 7-0 after a 23-second drive.

“The way the defense played tonight gave us so much confidence on offense,” Tagovailoa said after the game. “Coach D (Shawn Defoor) did a great job with the defense this week and drew up a great gameplan, that we were able to relax and feel comfortable on offense tonight.”

The story of the night took place on the Huskies’ ensuing drive.

After a long drive saw them get to the Thompson 8-yard line for a first-and-goal opportunity, a Paul Tyson fade pass to the back left corner of the end zone was slightly under thrown, which allowed D.J. Douglas to make his first of three interceptions on the night to end the scoring threat.

The Warriors were unable to get a touchdown off the turnover, but kicker Evan McGuire added a field goal to give Thompson a 10-0 lead late in the first quarter.

After a few defensive stops by both teams leading into the middle of the second quarter, Hewitt was finally able to convert on an opportunity.

Thompson turned was unable to convert good field position into points and gave the ball right back to the Huskies after turning it over on downs.

Tyson went on to have his best drive of the game completing 3-of-4 passes for 43 yards, including a 21-yard touchdown pass that cut the Thompson lead to 10-7 with 7:28 remaining in the half.

Again, Thompson missed an opportunity on the ensuing drive to put more points on the board.

A 14-play drive, that actually saw Tagovailoa hit Pettway for another seeming touchdown pass that was overturned due to holding, ended with a missed field goal.

Thompson’s defense, however, made up for the touchdown pass it had given up the drive before and forced a quick three-and-out to give the offense another crack in the half with 1:20 left.

That’s when the scale really started to tilt in the Warriors favor.

After a 16-yard catch from Pettway and a pass interference on a deep ball to Chris Hopkins set Thompson up on the 24-yard line, Shadrick Byrd finished the three-play drive off with a 24-yard touchdown run to give the Warriors a 16-7 lead after the missed PAT.

As if that wasn’t enough, on the ensuing kickoff, Hewitt returner Ja’Varrius Johnson got his first chance to return a kick, but a group of Thompson tacklers got to him quickly and forced a fumble recovered by the Warriors with 40 seconds left in the half.

It looked like Thompson had a touchdown within a play thanks to a 30-yard pass from Tagovailoa to Pettway, but the duo was killed by a holding penalty for the second time.

This time, it didn’t matter, as the extra yardage proved to be an added total to their yardage at the end of the night thanks to a 46-yard touchdown pass two plays later that put Thompson on top 23-7 at the half.

The third quarter went by without a touchdown, the first scoreless quarter between the two teams in two games, as Thompson ran clock and Hewitt struggled to gain momentum on the ground or through the air.

On the second play of the fourth quarter, however, the action picked back up.

Douglas was able to pick Tyson off for the second time in the game, this time returning it for 35 yards to the Hewitt-Trussville 25-yard line.

One play later, in the blink of an eye, Tagovailoa was gone up the left sideline for a 25-yard touchdown to put the Warriors on top 30-7 with 11:10 remaining in the game.

The Huskies answered less than a minute later after a long touchdown pass Dazalin Worsham to give them a slim chance of hope with 10:22 left trailing 30-13 after a missed 2-point attempt.

Thompson answered a few minutes later after a long drive ended when Jarrett Crockett reeled off a 21-yard touchdown run untouched to put the final stamp on the game with a 37-13 lead and just 5:29 left.

Douglas wanted to be safe rather than sorry, and really closed the game out when he intercepted his third Tyson pass of the night on the ensuing drive to end any chance the Huskies had.

Tagovailoa ended the game 12-of-21 for 185 yards and two touchdowns through the air, while also adding 20 yards and one touchdown rushing.

Byrd quietly had another impressive game on the ground for the Warriors with 165 rushing yards on 24 carries, including one touchdown.

Pettway had one of his most sure-handed games of the year at receiver catching four balls for 110 yards with two touchdowns.

Thompson is now set to face Hoover in the semfinals in a rematch game for the second consecutive season on Friday, Nov. 23, looking to earn a spot in the state championship.

“It’s gone through Hoover for so long,” Freeman said. “They’ve been there and done that for so long, that we are going to have to come out ready. We have to go over there and give it our best shot.”

For the players, it’s another opportunity to pull off a major milestone.

“It feels great to go back to where we were last year,” Tagovailoa said. “We have to continue to stay humble and hungry moving forward. That’s been our motto all year and we have to continue living by that.”

Photos available at Shelbycountyphotos.com

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