Yellow Jackets rocked
- Updated: August 21, 2021
Two-time defending 7A state champion Thompson hands Oxford first Opening Day shutout in 35 years
By Brant Locklier
For East Alabama Sports Today
OXFORD – There has been a lot of construction equipment around the stadium and fieldhouse projects at Oxford High School and Friday night the young and inexperienced Yellow Jackets ran into a steamroller.
Top-ranked and two-time defending Class 7A state champion Thompson came to town and completely dominated the Jackets in coach Sam Adams’ first official game with the team, 55-0.
It was the first time the Jackets had been shutout in 71 games (Opelika 55-0, 2015) and the first time they had been shutout in a season opener since 1986 (Pell City 14-0).
The Warriors scored five times and had two touchdowns called back in the first 19 minutes of the game as they raced to a 34-0 halftime lead. Warriors coach Mark Freeman turned the game over to the second unit midway through the second quarter.
The visitors showed they were absolutely loaded this year as they rolled up 224 yards of offense in the first half and 10 first downs. They had a 57-yard pass and 54-yard punt return for scores called back due to holding penalties. Oxford, meanwhile had no first downs and only 32 yards of offense in the half.
North Carolina committed quarterback Conner Harrell was 6 of 8 for 116 yards and a pair of touchdown passes in the half. Running back Brandon Franklin scored on two short runs and caught a touchdown pass of 35 yards out of the backfield.
Harrell came back out in the second half and threw a quick 11-yard pass to Ryan Peppins and he watched from the sidelines the rest of the night. He threw for 3,568 yards and 42 touchdowns as year ago as the Class 7A Back of the Year.
“Harrell did a fantastic job out there tonight,” Freeman said. “He really, really looked good out there.”
Thompson pounded out 261 yards rushing and 163 yards passing for 424 total yards of total offense. In the game.
“We made a lot of mistakes on offense (10 penalties for 95 yards) that hurt us,” Freeman said. “We have to correct those as we progress in the season if we are going to be a good football team.vI really love these guys and we have a chance to have a very special season.”
The defense, meanwhile, which Freeman called “special tonight,” held Oxford to one first down for the game and only 28 yards of total offense. They held Oxford to minus-5 yards total offense in the second half.
“We need to play teams like this if we are going to be better and compete for championships,” Adams said. “We got beat pretty good tonight, but our kids did not quit and they kept playing hard. They had several opportunities to pack it in, but they did not so I am proud that they continued to play.”
It was the 19th straight win for Thompson and 27th in 28 games.
“Thompson was as good a team as I have seen in my days of coaching,” Adams said. “Goodness, they’ve got four or five guys on that defense that may be playing in the NFL one day and any mistake we made became much more magnified.”
Oxford will be at home next week to host 5A power Pleasant Grove, the No. 3 team in the state.
Thompson 55, Oxford 0
| Thompson (1-0) | 21 | 13 | 14 | 7 – | 55 |
| Oxford (0-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 – | 0 |
T – Ahmari Bolden 5 pass from Conner Harrell (John Morgan kick), 8:29 1Q
T – Brandon Franklin 1 run (John Morgan kick), 2:11 1Q
T – Ryan Peppins 21 run (John Morgan kick), 0:12 1Q
T – Brandon Franklin 35 pass (John Morgan kick), 10:14 2Q
T – Brandon Franklin 1 run (kick failed), 7:39 2Q
T – Ryan Peppins 11 pass from Conner Harrell (John Morgan kick), 10:11 3Q
T – Lione Cook 3 run (John Morgan kick), 1:01 3Q
T – Jack Sims 8 run (John Morgan kick), 6:11 4Q
| Thom | Oxf | |
| 1st Downs | 18 | 1 |
| Rush-yds | 37-261 | 28-33 |
| Passes | 7-11-1 | 3-11-0 |
| Passing yds | 163 | (-5) |
| Fum-lost | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Punts-avg | 2-30.0 | 10-35.0 |
| Pens-yds | 11-95 | 2-15 |
You must be logged in to post a comment Login