By BEN EDWARDS | Staff Writer
Thompson football is poised for another prolific season under longtime head coach Mark Freeman and four-star senior quarterback Trent Seaborn. The reigning state champions have already been ranked as the No. 1 team in Alabama and No. 25 in the country by MaxPreps. If the Warriors win a state championship this season, it will be their seventh in eight years.
The season kicks off the way it almost ended last season. Thompson will travel to Phenix City on Thursday, Aug. 20 to play Central-Phenix City in what could be a state championship preview.
Last season, the two teams met in the semifinals in a game that ended in dramatic fashion and the Warriors' biggest scare of the season. After the Red Devils scored in the final seconds, they opted to go for two and failed to convert, sending Thompson to the finals.
You can count on the Warriors entering a hostile environment in Garrett-Harrison Stadium. Central-Phenix City has no shortage of players to watch including QB Bobby Coleman, RB Jayshaun Woodhouse and WR/DB Braylen Averett.
Week 2 will be a clash of champions as the reigning 6A state champion Clay-Chalkville will travel to Warrior Stadium to take on Thompson on Thursday, Aug. 27.
The Cougars have been a team that has had Thompson's number since 2022, with the Warriors only winning one of the four matchups. Last season, the game ended 28-24 after Thompson blew a halftime lead.
In 2025, Clay-Chalkville allowed an average of 12.2 points per game, and with DL Colton McIntyre and LB Isaiah Brown returning, expect their defense to be a tough test.
Week 3 is the start of region play when Vestavia Hills comes into town. The Rebels have been a top-ranked program in Alabama for a long time but still a level below Thompson over the last 10 years. Vestavia Hills has not won the matchup since 2015 and last season was a 35-3 victory for Thompson. While the Rebels will have All-State quarterback Charlie Taaffe this season, there is no reason to believe Thompson doesn't still have a good chance to take care of business.
Week 4 will be a matchup many fans have circled with Spain Park joining the region. The last time these two programs shared a region it was dominated by Thompson, but Spain Park has grown a lot as a program under head coach Tim Vakakes.
In 2025, Spain Park averaged 36.3 points per game while only allowing 15.8 per game and went 9-3 in the regular season. While Thompson should continue to have the upper hand in this series, it will not be reminiscent of years past.
Thompson's midway point in the season will be against Tuscaloosa County. Last year's matchup of the familiar region opponents was a 69-0 game that marked the Wildcats worst loss in program history. Most matchups over the last 10 years have had a similar story, and this season leaves no reason to see anything different happening.
Thompson will get their bye week in Week 6 prior to their matchup against Hoover, another team that has been a tough test for the Warriors. The last two matchups have come down to the final moments with Hoover sneaking out both wins.
Games against the Bucs tend to be shootouts as they averaged over 30 points per game but would also give up 26.5 points per game. This will be a matchup both programs will be anticipating as they try to cement themselves as a top seed in the playoffs.
Entering the final stretch of the season, the Warriors will take on Hewitt-Trussville. Like Vestavia Hills, the Huskies are another program who, despite their strong records and high rankings, have not been able to crack the code against Thompson. There have been some close endings between the two but every game has gone in favor of the Warriors since 2020.
Thompson will then take on Prattville in Week 9. The Lions are a team that, despite some quality wins and close games, have not gotten through to the playoffs in a few years. While last year's matchup was closer than Thompson probably would have liked and Prattville gained a Clemson commit in S Jayden Aparicio-Bailey, it is still a game the Warriors should feel confident about getting the job done.
Region play wraps up at Oak Mountain. This has been a series that Thompson has dominated over the last decade but the Eagles have entered a new era under first-year head coach Jason Kervin. Their ceiling is hard to predict with a lot of belief beginning to circulate around the Eagles with a revamped offensive line and QB Charlie Vacarella. That said, it will be if Oak Mountain can get to the level of Thompson in their first year of the new era.
The season ends welcoming in an out-of-state matchup against Choctawhatchee from Florida on Thursday, Oct. 29. The Indians are a top ranked program out of Florida and will prove to be a good test for Thompson as they prepare for the playoffs.
Thompson fans have every reason to feel confident going into the 2026 season that they can repeat as champions. Freeman continues to reload year in and year out and Seaborn will be playing for a rare fifth year of varsity football before leaving for University of Alabama.
