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Photo by Frank Couch
Oak Mountain Football
Oak Mountain OL Gavin Nelson hauls in Thompson QB Connor Harrell in the first half. The Oak Mountain Eagles traveled to Alabaster, Alabama to take on Thompson in a 7A region matchup Friday October, 2021. (For Starnes Media/Frank Couch)
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Oak Mountain WR Ethan Hammett runs for extra yards after a catch in the first half. The Oak Mountain Eagles traveled to Alabaster, Alabama to take on Thompson in a 7A region matchup Friday October, 2021. (For Starnes Media/Frank Couch)
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Oak Mountain Football
Oak Mountain QB Evan Smith looks for an open receiver. The Oak Mountain Eagles traveled to Alabaster, Alabama to take on Thompson in a 7A region matchup Friday October, 2021. (For Starnes Media/Frank Couch)
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Oak Mountain Football
The Oak Mountain Eagles traveled to Alabaster, Alabama to take on Thompson in a 7A region matchup Friday October, 2021. (For Starnes Media/Frank Couch)
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Oak Mountain RB Trey Vassell takes the handoff from back up QB Garrett Murphy. The Oak Mountain Eagles traveled to Alabaster, Alabama to take on Thompson in a 7A region matchup Friday October, 2021. (For Starnes Media/Frank Couch)
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Oak Mountain fans react in the first half. The Oak Mountain Eagles traveled to Alabaster, Alabama to take on Thompson in a 7A region matchup Friday October, 2021. (For Starnes Media/Frank Couch)
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Oak Mountain Football
Oak Mountain OL Gavin Nelson hauls in Thompson QB Connor Harrell in the first half. The Oak Mountain Eagles traveled to Alabaster, Alabama to take on Thompson in a 7A region matchup Friday October, 2021. (For Starnes Media/Frank Couch)
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Oak Mountain QB Garrett Murphy makes a pass attempt in the first half. The Oak Mountain Eagles traveled to Alabaster, Alabama to take on Thompson in a 7A region matchup Friday October, 2021. (For Starnes Media/Frank Couch)
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Oak Mountain QB Garrett Murphy runs for a short gain in the first half. The Oak Mountain Eagles traveled to Alabaster, Alabama to take on Thompson in a 7A region matchup Friday October, 2021. (For Starnes Media/Frank Couch)
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Oak Mountain Punter Garrett MurphyThe Oak Mountain Eagles traveled to Alabaster, Alabama to take on Thompson in a 7A region matchup Friday October, 2021. (For Starnes Media/Frank Couch)
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Oak Mountain defender Quest Agee tries to bring down Thompson RB Justin Pegues. The Oak Mountain Eagles traveled to Alabaster, Alabama to take on Thompson in a 7A region matchup Friday October, 2021. (For Starnes Media/Frank Couch)
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Oak Mountain defender Jah'ki Mullens tries to bring down Thompson RB Justin Pegues. The Oak Mountain Eagles traveled to Alabaster, Alabama to take on Thompson in a 7A region matchup Friday October, 2021. (For Starnes Media/Frank Couch)
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Bobby Laury shoves Thompson QB Connor Harrell out of bounds short of the end zone. The Oak Mountain Eagles traveled to Alabaster, Alabama to take on Thompson in a 7A region matchup Friday October, 2021. (For Starnes Media/Frank Couch)
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Evan Smith handles a high snap in the first half. The Oak Mountain Eagles traveled to Alabaster, Alabama to take on Thompson in a 7A region matchup Friday October, 2021. (For Starnes Media/Frank Couch)
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Evan Smith scrambles for a short gain. . The Oak Mountain Eagles traveled to Alabaster, Alabama to take on Thompson in a 7A region matchup Friday October, 2021. (For Starnes Media/Frank Couch)
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Evan Smith attempts a pass in the first half. The Oak Mountain Eagles traveled to Alabaster, Alabama to take on Thompson in a 7A region matchup Friday October, 2021. (For Starnes Media/Frank Couch)
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Davion Foster breaks up a pass intended for Jaylen Ward. Thompson’s The Oak Mountain Eagles traveled to Alabaster, Alabama to take on Thompson in a 7A region matchup Friday October, 2021. (For Starnes Media/Frank Couch)
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Oak Mountain OL Gavin Nelson hauls in Thompson QB Connor Harrell in the first half. The Oak Mountain Eagles traveled to Alabaster, Alabama to take on Thompson in a 7A region matchup Friday October, 2021. (For Starnes Media/Frank Couch)
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Oak Mountain quarterback Evan Smith takes the snap in the first half. The Oak Mountain Eagles traveled to Alabaster, Alabama to take on Thompson in a 7A region matchup Friday October, 2021. (For Starnes Media/Frank Couch)
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Oak Mountain quarterback Evan Smith tries to outrun Jeremiah Alexander around end. The Oak Mountain Eagles traveled to Alabaster, Alabama to take on Thompson in a 7A region matchup Friday October, 2021. (For Starnes Media/Frank Couch)
ALABASTER — Thompson High School did to Oak Mountain what Thompson has done to most everyone for the last two years.
The Class 7A top-ranked Warriors scored 41 first-half points and rolled to a 48-0 victory over No. 7 Oak Mountain on Friday in a Region 3 game at Warrior Stadium.
Six of Conner Harrell’s nine completions went for touchdowns, as the North Carolina commit racked up 324 passing yards. Five of those touchdowns went to Ryan Peppins, who scored on touchdowns of 16, 40, 80, 26 and 60 yards. The game’s first score was a 29-yard pass from Harrell to Justin Pegues. Brandon Franklin scored the lone rushing touchdown in the game, a 2-yard dive late in the first quarter.
“They’re No. 4 in the country for a reason,” said Oak Mountain head coach Tyler Crane.
Oak Mountain had chances in the first half. Devan Moss returned the ensuing kickoff after Franklin’s touchdown 53 yards, and a play later quarterback Evan Smith bolted 23 yards. A drive that reached the Thompson 1-yard line ended in an interception in the end zone. Oak Mountain (6-2, 4-2 in region) got to the Warriors’ 4-yard line on the next drive, but Smith was again intercepted in the end zone. After the interception, Thompson (9-0, 6-0) was called for a personal foul for hitting Smith, who left the game with an apparent shoulder injury. His status for next week’s game against Hewitt-Trussville is unknown.
“I wish it could have been handled better,” Crane said of the play.
The Eagles got a 36-yard field goal on their next drive by Garrett Murphy, but a roughing the kicker penalty on Thompson gave them a first down. Oak Mountain lost a fumble on the next play.
“Can’t turn the ball over in the red zone,” Crane said. “We could have taken the points, but we’re not here to kick field goals.”
The lone second-half score was a 60-yarder from Harrell to Peppins.
“We’ve just got to go back and get better as a team,” Crane said. “We’ve got a long way to go. We know that. Obviously looking across the field at those guys and looking at our guys, we’ve got a long way to go, but I was proud of our guys how they fought. Those guys over there are different. They’re really good. To get us to that level we’ve got a long way to go.”
In the second half, freshman Will O’Dell quarterbacked the Oak Mountain offense. He threw an interception and lost a fumble, but managed to complete 4-of-7 passes for 37 yards. Smith finished 4-of-11 for 62 yards. He had 20 rushing yards on eight carries before his night was cut short. Ethan Hammett caught three of those passes for 57 yards. Cade George grabbed three receptions for 29 yards.
Thompson held Oak Mountain to 118 total yards. The Eagles were 1-for-13 on third-down conversions and turned the ball over five times.
“Our guys are going to fight no matter what,” Crane said. “I challenged them at halftime. I said, ‘Guys, here’s the deal: I don’t care what the scoreboard says. I just want to see whether you’ve got the guts to go out there and fight.’ And I feel like our guys did. Now, were we outmanned and outmatched? Absolutely. You can see that across the board, but so was everybody else against them. But I was proud of how our guys fought.”
Oak Mountain hosts Hewitt-Trussville (7-2, 4-2) next week in both teams’ final region game, one that will decide Region 3’s third and fourth seeds. Both will have to travel for the first round of the Class 7A playoffs.
“At some point you’re going to have to cross these guys (Thompson) again,” Crane said. “My message to our guys is going to be: For us to get to the promised land of what we want — and we want to win a state championship; that’s my goal here and that’s what I’m always going to preach — we’ve seen what we’ve got to do to win one. If you can beat them, you can win one.”