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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

It’s another year and another opportunity for the Thompson Warriors to showcase Alabaster on the national stage after ESPN chose to air the reigning Class 7A runners-up on national television.

ESPN2 will air Thompson’s first game of the season against Georgia’s Grayson as part of the ESPN High School Football Showcase’s Kickoff Weekend, the network announced in a press release on Thursday, Aug. 1.

As a result of the network’s selection, Thompson will now face Grayson on Thursday, August 22 at 7 p.m., kicking off the 2024 football season in Shelby County with ESPN2’s cameras trained on Warrior Stadium.

“This really speaks volumes about our program, our operational capacity and the long-term relationship established with ESPN,” Thompson athletic director Vincent Pitts said. “We are thrilled that our school, community, city, players and coaches will again be featured on the biggest stage. This helps continue to cement the legacy of this program as one of the best.”

Last season, the Warriors engaged in one of the games of the season on ESPN2 airwaves against crosstown foe Clay-Chalkville. Thompson rallied to make it a one-score game, but the eventual Class 6A state champions went on to win 36-33 in the Warriors’ lone regular season loss.

This is now the fifth time that Thompson has been featured on the ESPN family of networks and the fourth time it has hosted a nationally televised game. The Warriors’ 2018 and 2020 showdowns with Hewitt-Trussville were televised along with their 2022 game against Lipscomb Academy and last year’s Hewitt-Trussville game.

The Grayson showdown is one of two out-of-state matchups for Thompson this season as it will travel to Nashville to face Lipscomb Academy in Week 2. That game was also moved to a Thursday night as they will now play Thursday, Aug. 29 at 7 p.m.

Thompson will put its lofty preseason aspirations to the test against both Grayson and Lipscomb Academy as it looks to get back to the Class 7A state championship game for the seventh straight season and win its fifth state championship in six seasons.