Loss to Thompson ends Eagles' season
ALABASTER – Thompson High School held off an Oak Mountain charge and pulled away for a 45-7 victory in the second round of the Class 7A football playoffs Friday night.
The Warriors knew keeping Eagles quarterback Evan Smith in check would be key to their success.
“He’s a great competitor,” Thompson linebacker Jeremiah Alexander said. “I’ve been playing against him since my freshman year. The first home game my freshman year was in this stadium against him and possibly my last home game was against him. It’s been a good competition for four years.”
Defensive end Peter Woods echoed that sentiment.
“We knew he was going to be the player that we had to beat,” he said. “Basically, it took more game-planning and the effort that we give every game, every snap. Just consistent.”
The Warriors led 14-0 before Smith led the visitors on a long drive that ended with his 18-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Hammett.
“They did have some momentum,” Thompson coach Mark Freeman said of Oak Mountain. “We knew they were going to have some plays like that. He’s a good quarterback and they had a little different scheme, it looked like. They had a good idea of what they wanted to do with him. He threw the ball a lot better than people think he can.”
The home team displayed a one-two punch at quarterback as senior Conner Harrell subbed in for sophomore Zach Sims. Harrell knocked off some rust from missing the second half of the Hoover game and Thompson’s first-round playoff win, hitting 10-of-13 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown.
Sims was 11-of-16 for 191 yards and a pair of TDs.
“(Harrell has) practiced all week and he’s taken some reps and we’ve been careful with him,” Freeman said. “He needed to get out there tonight and get the feel of the game so next week he goes into practice confident … and he can do what he needs to do.”
Justin Pegues paced the victors on the ground with 18 carries for 127 yards.
When the game was done, Harrell shared a word with Smith and posed for a photo with him at midfield.
“I told him he played a great season and had a great four years,” the Thompson senior said. “He’s been giving us problems for four years. He’s a great athlete, a great person. He’ll have a great future at Northwestern.”
Smith, who missed the second half of the Eagles’ 48-0 loss to Thompson in October, said he and his mates gave everything they had.
“We were just trying to go out as hard as we could, no matter how it ended and give everything we had,” he said. “That’s what we did and we came up short. It just is what it is.”
Oak Mountain coach Tyler Crane said his players did everything they possibly could and played as hard as they possibly could play.
“I wish I could have done something else, just a little bit more to help our guys have a chance to compete in this one,” Crane continued. “I’m very proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish.”
Oak Mountain finishes the season with a 7-5 record and an appearance in the second round of the playoffs for the second straight year. Thompson moves on to face Hoover in the 7A semifinals next week.