ALABASTER – There was a record to chase, a rivalry to continue and a ranked opponent standing in Thompson's way.
By the end of Friday night, the Warriors had taken care of all three.
Thompson overwhelmed Vestavia Hills from the opening snap, rolling to a 49-0 victory at Warrior Stadium while senior quarterback Trent Seaborn broke the AHSAA's all-time career passing yards record in the process.
The Warriors improved to 3-0 with their third consecutive dominant performance against one of Alabama's top teams, while the Rebels fell to 2-1.
The result was never particularly in doubt.
Thompson forced a three-and-out on Vestavia's opening possession, then marched 40 yards to the end zone on its first offensive series. Seaborn capped the drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass to CJ Cowley, who made a difficult toe-tapping catch in the end zone to put the Warriors ahead 7-0 with 7:16 left in the first quarter.
Cowley quickly added another score in the second quarter, taking a handoff one yard into the end zone to cap a 54-yard drive and push the lead to 14-0.
Then Seaborn and the Thompson passing game took over.
On the first play of the Warriors' next possession, Seaborn rolled out and found Darion Moseley behind the defense for a 73-yard touchdown. The 73-yard connection gave Thompson a 21-0 lead with 8:06 left in the first half.
Three minutes later, Seaborn delivered another highlight.
Facing third-and-12, the senior quarterback escaped pressure and extended the play before eventually finding Dedrick Kimbrough in the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown. What appeared to be a dead play turned into another Warriors score, giving Thompson a 28-0 advantage with 5:27 left before halftime.
The Warriors' defense made sure the Rebels never had an opportunity to answer.
Vestavia Hills managed only 118 yards of total offense, including 39 rushing yards. The Rebels turned the ball over once and were held without a score throughout the night.
Thompson went into halftime with a four-touchdown advantage and one question remaining: Would Seaborn return to the field with the record within reach?
He did.
And he wasted little time making history.
On the Warriors' opening possession of the second half, Seaborn found Moseley for a first down that pushed him past the career passing yards mark. Seaborn then came off the field, with Thompson turning the remainder of the night over to their younger players.
The celebration belonged to the entire team.
"Breaking the record isn't an individual thing; I feel like it's a team stat," Seaborn said. "My teammates and coaches are the reason why I was able to do that. They got me to this point throughout all these years."
The Warriors immediately continued adding to the scoreboard.
Jahari Nation took over at quarterback and directed a 75-yard touchdown drive, finishing it with Latrell Sanders' 2-yard touchdown run to make it 35-0 with 9:09 left in the third quarter.
Nic McKissick added a 1-yard touchdown run early in the fourth, and Josiah Finley followed with another 1-yard score to complete the scoring.
By then, Thompson's senior quarterback had long since finished his work for the night.
Seaborn completed 18 of 21 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. With the statline, he eclipsed the record set by Piedmont's Jack Hayes, who had 11,024 yards in an illustrious career of his own. Seaborn now stands alone, though, with a total of 11,031 passing yards and counting.
Moseley led the Warriors' receiving corps with six catches for 107 yards and a touchdown. Kimbrough added four catches for 64 yards and a score, while Cowley caught all four of his targets for 54 yards and a touchdown.
Cowley also led Thompson on the ground with 57 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. McKissick added 28 rushing yards and a score, while Sanders had 15 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, the Warriors held Vestavia Hills to just 10 first downs and 118 total yards. Johnathan Hayes led Thompson with seven tackles, while Cam Pritchett and Kevin Davis each recorded five tackles and a sack.
For head coach Mark Freeman, the most important part of the night wasn't the record.
It was the win.
"Tonight, Trent did what he's done for five years. He leads his team to wins," Freeman said. "He's very unselfish. We wanted to get him the record tonight, get all of that over with and get this game over with, knocking another region game out."
The record was simply another milestone in a night that Freeman said belonged to the entire team.
"When Trent broke the record, I think that's a testament to the kind of teammate he is," Freeman said. "Everybody wanted him to get the record, and that shows you what kind of person he is off the field. What kind of teammate he is, the things he does."
The Warriors entered the night facing its first region game of the season and a Rebels team that had opened the year 2-0. Instead, Thompson turned it into another statement.
They've now opened the season 3-0, with each victory coming against a highly regarded opponent.
And even after everything that happened Friday, Seaborn's attention was already elsewhere.
"It feels good being 3-0, but we know we can't stop," Seaborn said. "These are just the stepping stones, our focus is always on the next opponent."
The Warriors will next face the Spain Park Jaguars on the road on Friday, Sept. 11, another tough test against one of the state's premier programs.
