The Thompson Warriors opened up the 2024 season against one of the top teams in the state
of Georgia as they welcomed in the Grayson Rams on the opening Thursday night of the 2024
high school football season.
Thompson came in as the #2 ranked 7A team in the state in the Alabama Sports Writers
Association poll while MaxPreps had Grayson ranked 8 th in Georgia's highest classification after
a 1-point loss in their opening week against Collins Hill 20-19.
As the eyes of the nation tuned in to ESPN 2 to see two of the top teams in the country face off
with some of the biggest student-athletes in the ESPN 300, football was finally back and the
Road to the Super 7 was underway.
Grayson took the opening kickoff and steadily marched down the field to go up 7-0. It looked like
Thompson was going to get a big stop on that drive after a Jared Smith third down tackle a yard
short of the first down marker. Grayson was able to convert on 4 th and short, but a potential
fumble and the confusion afterward forced Thompson to use a timeout that wound up being
costly later in the half.
That would wind up being the last offensive touchdown scored by either team in regulation.
Trent Seaborn and the Thompson offense were able to put together a few drives, unfortunately
unable to convert them into points. Seaborn ended the night 17/29 for 121 yards, with one
touchdown and one interception.
Michael Dujon started the game off at running back before
leaving the game with an injury, carrying 11 times for 40 yards while Seaborn added another 4
rushes for 16 yards.
Angel Jones led all receivers with 3 catches for 40 yards.
The Thompson defense stood strong after that opening drive score, keeping Grayson out of the
endzone the rest of regulation time. In the third quarter, the defense came up big as
Vini Pires
was able to knock the ball loose from a Grayson receiver and right into the hands of Anquon
Fegans who returned it for a touchdown. That made the score 7-7 which is where it stayed
when the fourth quarter ended.
Thompson did have one last chance to pull out a potential game winning drive after Damonte
Tabb grabbed an interception late in the game, but the Warriors weren't able to get close
enough for a field goal.
In overtime, the Warriors got the ball first and it didn't take long as Seaborn completed a perfect
10-yard touchdown pass to
Brooks Byars on the first play of the possession. After John Alan
McGuire knocked through the extra point, the Warriors had their first lead of the game 14-7.
Grayson got the ball next and it took them three plays before they finally punched it in. The
Rams decided they were going to try and end the game right there with a two-point conversion.
After loading nine lineman in the game and running the wildcat, it proved to be just too much
and Grayson converted to win the game 15-14 and hand Thompson their first loss on the
season.
Coach Mark Freeman pointed out to media members the similarities to two years ago when
Thompson and Buford squared off in Georgia. Buford won that game 38-7 before Thompson
then faced Lipscomb Academy and ended up going on to improve throughout the year and win
a state championship. They look to do the same thing this season – improve from the loss and
continue to get better.
And just like two years ago, they get Lipscomb Academy after a loss to a team from Georgia.
This time – the Warriors will travel to Nashville on Thursday, August 29.
As always, you can watch and listen to the game on the Warrior Nation Network as the
broadcast will go live on the road at 6:30 pm.
