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The Thompson Warriors dropped another overtime clash with Clay-Chalkville after a rally to tie the game in the fourth quarter. (For the Reporter/Jason Homan)

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

ALABASTER – For the second year in a row, it came down to the final play to separate the Thompson Warriors and Clay-Chalkville Cougars, and once again, it was Clay-Chalkville which walked away from Warrior Stadium with the win, this time by a score of 14-13 on Friday, Sept. 27.

Clay-Chalkville attacked Thompson on both fronts to start the half, first with a long drive that saw the Cougars march down the field with a pair of third down conversions.

Quarterback Aaron Frye kept Clay moving down the field, first with a run that moved the chains, then a pass up the middle that got the team into the red zone and finally with another run to the 3 on fourth-and-goal.

From there, the Cougars took the direct snap in for the touchdown, going up 7-0 with 3:54 left in the first after an eight-minute drive.

It was a defensive duel after that for much of the half as the rain poured down and the punters pinned each other deep.

Clay’s defense stymied the Warriors run game, leaving the hosts with -4 rushing yards in the first half, and Trent Seaborn could only manage 57 yards through the air as the Warriors only managed three first downs all half.

While Thompson’s defense allowed 10 first downs in the opening half, the Warriors got stops when needed to keep the Cougars out of the end zone. The team got a pair of third down stops on Clay’s two drives after the touchdown.

With just under a minute left in the half, Kevin Jones took advantage of an overthrown ball by Frye to grab a pick in the middle of the field, flipping the field in Thompson’s favor. However, the Warriors couldn’t capitalize and Clay remained in front 7-0 at the half.

With the rain now gone for good, Thompson got the ball to start the second half and embarked on its best drive of the game. Over the course of the next five minutes, RJ Evans took a carry 27 yards to the Cougars 38, and Trey Knight followed with a big catch on fourth down to get on the 25 and extend the drive.

The Warriors got in another fourth down situation after that, and this time, Evans was stopped short of the line to gain at the Clay 16.

Thompson’s defense came up with a three-and out after that thanks to a second-down pass breakup and third-down pressure that forced Frye to the sideline.

However, the Warriors fumbled the ball on the first play of the ensuing drive to give the ball right back to Clay near midfield.

The Cougars then fought hard on the ground for a lengthy drive that tested Thompson’s defense.

While Clay mainly relied on the run, two of the biggest plays of the drive were in the air with a dump pass on third-and-9 going for a first down and a fourth-down pass on the red zone that was caught on the ground.

After that, the Cougars made it to the 1-yard line on the ground, triggering a first-and-goal and putting the Warriors’ backs against the wall.

With all the pressure against the defense, Thompson stood firm for four straight downs and forced a turnover on downs with 11:23 left in the fourth.

That proved to be a massive momentum shift as the offense retook the field on its own 1-yard line.

Faced with a third-down spot in his own end zone, Seaborn scrambled for a first down to keep the drive alive early. After that, a late hit gave the Warriors more yards and another first down.

Seaborn then fired a pass up the middle to Darion Moseley who made a cut and turned on the jets to get 61 yards from the Warriors 35 to the Clay 4.

Evans immediately took advantage and ran it in for the score, and the ensuring extra point tied up the game at 7-7.

The Cougars’ next drive took on a similar tone to their previous one as for nearly six minutes, they made their way down the field with a bruising running game. Once again though, Thompson’s defense bent but didn’t break as it got a stop at the 6-yard line on fourth down.

That left the Warriors offense with 2:03 on the clock to get down the field and get on top.

Seaborn kicked off the drive with a pass to Knight that moved the sticks. Then, with his team on the 22-yard line, he scrambled and found a wide-open Evans at the 40-yard line, and Evans ran all the way down the sideline to the Clay 13.

Thompson then made the call to run down the clock and get a couple more yards before turning it over to kicker John Alan McGuire for the 26-yard field goal with a chance to win the game.

The Warriors’ kick was no good though, sending the teams to overtime.

The Cougars were backed up to start their overtime drive by a false start penalty. That wouldn’t matter much as on third down, a reverse in the backfield and some scrambling led to a throw and diving catch in the end zone. The extra point put Clay up 14-7.

Thompson then took over to respond, and its cause was aided by a defensive pass interference call when Seaborn tried to hit Knight near the goal line.

After missing a pass on the run to Moseley, Seaborn didn’t miss his spot twice as he rolled left to hit a diving Knight in the end zone, and the officials ruled it a touchdown as Knight collected the ball on his way down.

As the play developed though, Moseley’s helmet came off, leading to a Clay-Chalkville coach running up to the official in the end zone, and a flag was thrown on the Warriors.

That backed up the extra point kick an additional 15 yards, and the ensuing try failed, sealing the 14-13 win for the Cougars.

Seaborn finished 15-for-23 for 226 yards and a touchdown. Evans was both the top receiver and rusher, taking 21 carries for 47 yards and a touchdown and catching five passes for 93 yards. Moseley caught four balls for 83 yards, and Knight had two catches for 13 yards, including his score.

With the loss, the Warriors drop to 4-2, and they will look to keep their 3-0 region record alive as they face the Hewitt-Trussville Huskies on the road on Friday, Oct. 4.

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