Jags no match for Thompson
ALABASTER – Fifty-six seconds. Enough time to grab a soda and a box of popcorn from the concession stand before you take your seat at Warrior Stadium.
And if you opted to feast on snacks rather than feasting your eyes on the gridiron juggernaut that is Thompson High School football, you missed Brandon Franklin’s long run and his subsequent 12-yard touchdown jaunt.
The home-standing Warriors provided plenty more as the No. 1 team in Class 7A downed Spain Park 49-3 on Friday night in Region 3 action.
The speed with which the defending state champs got on the board demoralized the Jaguars.
“They’re really good on offense,” Spain Park coach Shawn Raney said. “That happened to us last week and our kids rallied [before falling 38-17 to Hewitt-Trussville]."
But there was no rally this time. The lone solace that the team in sky blue took home was the distinction of scoring the first points of the season against the Warriors when Braxton Sumpter nailed a 40-yard field goal in the second quarter.
By then, Thompson had 28 points and would push its halftime tally to 35.
Three Thompson touchdowns were scored by recent transfers from Spain Park. Justin Pegues scored on a 43-yard punt return and a 30-yard run and David Moultry had an 8-yard touchdown catch from Connell Harrell. Jaylen Ward was the third former Jaguars player to find the end zone, as he hauled in a 72-yard pass from Harrell.
Thompson coach Mark Freeman said he struggled to find things to be mad about. He pointed out some penalties and the shortcomings of young guys who got a chance to play. “They want to know why they don’t get to play. Mom and dad want to know why they don’t get to play,” Freeman said. “We give them a chance and they don’t know where to line up. They don’t know what to do. It just makes it difficult. You put them in there and the game gets ugly.
“They’ve got to continue to work,” he continued. “They get work every week. They’ve got to get better because you turn around and they’re going to be the guys playing here. We’ve got to get that cleaned up and cut out some of the penalties. But overall, we’re so blessed and I’m tickled to death to be sitting here 4-0, and the biggest thing 2-0 in the region.”
Raney said little went well for his squad Friday night but he’s certain the Jags will bounce back.
“I believe in this group,” he said. “They’ve worked their tails off. They’ve done what we asked them and we’ll bounce back.”
Raney acknowledged that it’s tough to bounce back. “But that’s the region we’re in,” he said. “We’ve got no choice. There’s no choice other than to bounce back. We’ve got a really good Gadsden [City] team coming to our place next week. We have no other choice.”