ALABASTER, Alabama - The #2 Thompson Warrior's stingy defense took away a possible game-tying two-point conversion with 1:36 left in the game and went on to defeat #6 Hewitt-Trussville 14-12 at Warriors Stadium on Friday night. Anquon Fegans intercepted the two-point conversion, and the Warriors escaped with a big Class 7A, Region 3 win.
Hewitt-Trussville drove down the field with less than five minutes in the game to close the gap to two points when Peyton Floyd scored on a 4-yard touchdown run. Thompson recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock to get the win. "We are living on the edge of the world," said Warriors head coach Mark Freeman. "We came out in the second half and played better. After being down 6-0, we scored 14 unanswered points. We are finding ways to win, and we are getting better. Our defense has played well all season, and they did again tonight. We didn't play our best, but we came out with the win. I'm proud of how our guys battled."
Hewitt-Trussville (4-3, 2-2) opened the scoring on a solid drive with many run plays and taking a lot of time off the clock. Peyton Floyd converted some big first downs, and the Huskies scored with 2:35 left in the first quarter on a Riley Rigg 32-yard field goal, and the Huskies took an early 3-0 lead late in the first quarter. With Thompson driving, they turn the ball away on a fumble, and defensive back Ethan Shotts gets the fumble and Hewitt-Trussville back in business of offense.
Again, Floyd drove the Husky's offense down the field but came up short in the red zone as Thompson stiffened when they needed to. With 7:30 left in the second quarter, Rigg hit a 22-yard field goal. The Huskies led 6-0 but needed touchdowns instead of those field goals. Late in half, AJ Green broke off a big run, and the Warriors were driving, but corner Rickey Gibson turned away a Warriors scoring opportunity with an interception in the end zone, and Hewitt-Thompson took a 6-0 halftime lead.
Hewitt-Trussville kicked off and recovered a deep kick to start the second half. Alijha Gardner picked up the loose ball, and the Huskies were deep in Thompson territory. Still, a few plays later, the Huskies fumbled, defensive lineman Jacary McCurry pounced on the loose ball, and Thompson took over.
The Warriors put together their best drive of the night, with Thompson starting on their five-yard line. Running back AJ Green broke off a big run, and with 9:26 left in the third quarter, Zach Sims placed a perfect pass to Korbyn Williams for the 48-yard touchdown pass, and Thompson took a 7-6 lead early in the third quarter.
Hewitt-Trussville came back on offense and was driving in Thompson territory, but linebacker Kelby Taylor picked off a Huskies pass and a Hewitt-Trussville scoring opportunity. With 11:45 left in the fourth game, Fegans picked off a pass and raced 45-yards for a Warriors touchdown. Thompson led 14-6 early in the fourth quarter with the score. "We played with heart, and the defense made a few plays on the field," said Warriors defensive lineman Peter Woods. "We had to make some plays on defense, so I so a lot of heart in our guys. We were tired but had to fight to the end. Anquon Fegans, Anquon Fegans, that was a big play at the end."
With less than five minutes left in the game, the Huskies made a big drive to close the gap. On a third-down play, a Jacob Serena reception kept the Husky's drive alive. A few plays later, Floyd scored on a 4-yard touchdown run, and Hewitt-Trussville was a two-point conversion away from overtime. On the next play, Fegans picked off the 2-point play, and Thompson escaped with the two-point win.
If the game, Floyd completed 19-of-32 passes for 169 yards with two interceptions along with 96 yards on 25 carries and a touchdown. Jadon Loving had nine receptions for 70 yards. Sims completed 10-of-20 passes for 118 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Green had 175 yards on 15 carries on the night.
Next, Thompson will host Oak Mountain on Thursday night, while Hewitt-Thompson will host Vestavia Hills in a significant Region 3 game.
