Eagles overwhelmed by Thompson
ALABASTER -- The Thompson High School football team proved to be too much for Oak Mountain in Friday's big loss.
The Warriors scored early and often en route to the 51-14 win, tallying four second-quarter touchdowns to pull away from their Class 7A, Region 3 foe. The Eagles trailed 41-7 at halftime.
Oak Mountain head coach Cris Bell said Thompson simply out played his squad in the 37-point loss.
“We just got outclassed in every way tonight,” Bell said. “I thought they had a good plan on both sides of the ball, and they whipped us up front on both sides of the ball.”
Jarrett Crockett had 10 carries for 121 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Warriors. Jermel Gaiters carried the ball 18 times for 159 yards, and Sawyer Pate went 9-for-10 with 177 yards passing and a pair of touchdowns.
Sam Reynolds caught both touchdown passes for 75 yards receiving.
Jonathan Bennett was the Eagles' bright spot, as he rushed for 131 yards on only eight carries and a touchdown.
Thompson (4-0, 2-0 in region) started fast when Reynolds carried the opening kickoff 93 yards for a score. Oak Mountain battled early with a seven-play drive that ended in a 9-yard passing touchdown from Evan Neal to Ethan Hammett to even the score at 7-7.
Thompson then flexed its muscles with a 10-play, 76-yard drive to take the lead. Crockett scored on an 11-yard touchdown run.
The second quarter was owned by the Warriors, who outscored the Eagles 27-0. Crockett scored his second touchdown of the night on a 24-yard run early in the second quarter. Thompson then proceeded to score three times in under two minutes of action. Brandon Franklin powered in a 14-yard touchdown with 5:56 left.
The next offensive snap from the Eagles (1-2, 0-2) was fumbled, and Evan Neal scooped it up and scored for the Warriors. Pate hit Reynolds in stride for a 56-yard touchdown pass with 4:23 remaining in the half to lead 41-7 at halftime.
Pate tossed another touchdown pass to Reynolds for a 12-yard score in the third quarter. With 4:40 in the third quarter, Bennett broke a long 56-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 48-14. Ethan McGuire closed the scoring for Thompson with a 27-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
Bell said his team has to come ready to practice and work for next week.
“As far as regrouping, we have to come out and be better Monday than we were today,” Bell said. “At the end of the day, we have to find ways to get better every day. Today we took a step backwards and we have a lot of work to do. We‘re a young team. We’re going to keep battling."
Oak Mountain will look to bounce back next week when it travels to Hoover in another region matchup.
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