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Join us live for the Alabama High School's Super 7 Championships, presented by Protective.

Tune in November 30th through December 2nd to join the squad.

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(gentle piano music) - Welcome to the Alabama High School Athletic Association's Football Championships!

Congratulations to the 14 boys teams and the two girls flag football teams for making it to Auburn.

I want to extend my best wishes to the cheerleaders, the bands, the schools, and the communities who are there to show their hometown spirit.

You all have so much to be proud of.

Win or lose, enjoy the games and celebrate your success.

Congratulations again, and best of luck to all of you.

- Two years ago inside of Bryant-Denny Stadium, the improbable happened.

Three scores in the last minute and a half, and it was Thompson with an incredible win over Auburn.

(upbeat music) Well, they say revenge is a dish best served cold, and on a chilly night inside Jordan-Hare, the fire burns for both of these teams and their fan bases.

And a Blue Map is on the line.

We welcome you to the Alabama Public Television High School Football Championship, presented by Protective, offering life insurance, retirement and asset protection to help protect what matters most.

And it's time for the 7A State Championship game between the Thompson Warriors and the Auburn Tigers from inside of Jordan-Hare Stadium here on the Plains.

Landrum Roberts along with the coach, Rick Rhoades.

Coach, we go back to that date two years ago inside of Bryant-Denny, these two teams.

Well, tonight you got a lot of the players that experienced that amazing comeback in that 7A title game.

And on the flip side, you have a lot of these players playing tonight who unfortunately experienced a devastating, agonizing defeat.

- Well, you've set the table pretty well.

They say sequels often are better than the original.

We're gonna find out tonight.

This is gonna be one heck of a football game.

- Well, it's time for our Coaching Safely Foundation Impact Players of the Game.

- [Rick] Well, first of all for Thompson, Peter Woods, the Clemson commit, one of the very best players in the state of Alabama.

You see his numbers, he's gonna have to come up big tonight.

Clyde Pittman, the veteran quarterback for Auburn, had the game winner last week.

Again, he's gonna have to have another great night.

- [Landrum] The CoachSafely Foundation.

Win without losses.

Well, we continue to get you ready for the 7A State Championship game.

Coming up next, our keys to the game, as we countdown to kickoff here in Auburn.

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- [Landrum] Welcome back to Auburn, Alabama.

We get you ready for the 7A State Championship game.

The three-time defending state champions Thompson taking on Auburn.

And besides keeping warm tonight, Coach Rick Rhoades, what are some of our APT Keys to the Game?

- [Rick] Well, it all starts with defense on both sides.

Let's talk about Thompson first.

Their defense was absolutely dominant last week.

Held Hoover to -2 yards rushing, intercepted four passes, and forced a safety.

They're gonna need the same kind of effort tonight.

They've got to run the football to be effective.

That's so important for the Warriors.

For Auburn, it's kind of the same thing.

Their pressure defense forced 30 negative plays last week.

40 yards rushing is all that Phenix City Central could get.

They could use some big chunk plays on offense as well.

Those are your keys, Landrum.

- [Landrum] Warriors versus Tigers.

Heavyweight title fight, part two.

And it comes your way next here on APT and the AHSAA Network.

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] You're watching Alabama Public Television.

Broaden your horizons.

(gentle piano music) (orchestral music crescendos) (dashboard beeps) (engine revs) (drink pours) (cell phone clicks) (tires skid) (cars crash) (dashboard beeps) - Hi, I'm Lionel Richie.

And I have traveled all over the world, but I consider Tuskegee, Alabama, as my home, sweet, home.

I have such a pride in this state and I know that there's something I need to tell you that's of great importance: Vote.

Register to vote and get your voter ID today.

It really is easy.

Easy like Sunday morning.

("Easy") - [Stadium Announcer] Landing near mid-field.

- [Landrum] One of the coolest traditions in all of sport, the flight of the eagle inside of Jordan-Hare Stadium, as the eagle touches down.

How many touchdowns will we see tonight in this 7A clash between these two titans?

And the visiting team tonight, literally, the Thompson Warriors taking on the Auburn Tigers.

Landrum Roberts along with the coach, Rick Rhoades.

We'll be joined momentarily by the third member of our broadcast team, Christina Chambers.

As the Auburn Tigers, well-represented by their fan base, making the short drive just down the road here inside of Jordan-Hare, and coach, this is what it's all about, the big stage.

- [Rick] And there- - [Landrum] Wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

- [Rick] And there is a lot of blue and white on this side of the stadium, I tell you.

I just looked out of the box, it's just about end zone to end zone over here.

Pretty electric atmosphere.

- [Landrum] It certainly is.

And the team across the way, the Thompson Warriors, of course, three-time defending state champions.

Their fan base, they're used to this, and it's not that far of a drive from Alabaster.

I'm guessing they take 65 and then hit 85 here to Auburn, Alabama.

- [Rick] Well there is a back way down, but anyway, that's.

Well, you know this is the fifth straight championship game for them.

You know, they lost the first time, they ran off three in a row, and they're trying to make it number four tonight.

- [Landrum] And we talked about the journey, in the pre-game and leading up to this, between these two teams.

And first for Thompson, a little bit of an characteristic start for Mark Freeman, that man, the head coach of the Warriors.

Played a tough early schedule, but not up to the standard we're used to seeing from this Thompson team over the years.

- [Rick] Very much so.

Evidently Pittsburgh was not available for their opener, so they.

And I would be willing to bet these are maybe our teachers from their respective schools.

- [Landrum] Another pre-game tradition, which is really cool.

Maybe not quite as cool as the eagle flight, but it is the coin toss (Rick laughs) and is presented by Children's of Alabama.

All of our great sponsors.

Now our head official and our coin toss as we get the 7A title game started.

- [Stadium Announcer] From Auburn, Heather Langford, April Halverson, Amanda Savrda, and Naomi Bergh.

- Okay, Ryan Funderburk is the honorary captain.

He's going to present the coin.

- [Ryan] Merry Christmas.

- Auburn, you're the home team.

Thompson, you're the visiting team.

Sportsmanship, guys.

Okay, you need to call the coin.

That's tails, that's heads.

Call it now.

- Tails.

- He called tails.

And it is tails.

Thompson has won the toss.

(crowd cheers) Okay, Thompson won the toss and elected to defer to the second half.

Auburn, you want the ball.

Okay, which end of the field do you want to defend?

Turn your back this way.

Turn your back here.

You're gonna kick that way.

Turn your back over there.

All right, Auburn will receive.

Good luck, gentlemen.

Shake hands.

Let's have a good game.

- [Christina] Both head coaches here tonight have the experience to get it done on the big stage.

For Thompson head coach Mark Freeman, he's won nine state championships, three straight at Thompson.

The Warriors looking to make history, becoming the first team in Class 7A to win four straight.

On the other sideline, you have Auburn head coach Keith Etheredge.

He's won five championships of his own, at different schools.

He told me this stadium carries a special place in his heart.

Each time he's played here inside Jordan-Hare Stadium, he's won a state championship, and he hopes that trend continues here tonight.

- [Landrum] Thanks so much, Christina.

We'll be checking in with Christina throughout the night.

So as you heard our head official in the coin toss, presented once again by Children's of Alabama, it was Thompson winning the toss and deferring to the second half.

So Auburn wearing the black jerseys, the white pants, the white headgear, will receive.

And then Thompson in their travel grey pants, the white jerseys and the grey headgear.

And our kickoff is brought to you by the Department of Human Resources.

- [Rick] Now Auburn will be going into a pretty stiff wind.

Well, the flag just changed, so.

The wind will be a factor, and it swirls here pretty good at Jordan-Hare Stadium, so.

And that's something very uncharacteristic for a high school team to have to deal with, swirling wind currents.

- [Landrum] Kahnor Hughes already dealing with the wind, as the ball falls off the tee.

Right now 48 degrees, temperatures expected to be around 41 by game's end.

But with that wind, right now out of the north, 11 miles per hour.

But wind gusts up to 24 miles per hour, that could play a factor, especially with the passing games of both of these teams.

- [Rick] Absolutely, and you know, for the viewers at home, the wind's going to be blowing from left to right on your screen.

- [Landrum] We're underway.

7A championship, inside of Jordan-Hare.

And Hughes using that wind to aim the kick out of the back of the end zone.

And Auburn will take over first, and they are led by that young man, Clyde Pittman, senior signal caller and boy, what an outstanding career.

What an outstanding senior season and playoff run he's had.

- [Rick] Yeah, 68% completion percentage, 1750 yards, the all-time career touchdown passing leader at Auburn High School.

(marching band music) - [Landrum] Auburn offense getting set, as Pittman checking with his offensive line.

You know, you wouldn't think about it, but 20,000, 25,000 fans, both bands playing, a little bit of noise may be a factor tonight.

Auburn going with the ground game around the right side.

The Tigers' Ean Nation, we'll call his name a lot tonight, picks up a couple, will bring up 2nd down & 8.

As you take a look at the Tigers starting.

We talked about Pittman, DV Williams, the running back, Nation, who you just saw, Josephson, one of those talented wideouts, along with Jack Hudson.

Then you've got McLean, Joiner, Ferris, also Foster, Patrick, and Reese.

So on 2nd down & 8, nothing doing.

That defensive line of Thompson and the Warriors, boy, we're gonna spotlight them tonight, coach.

Upfront, very talented Peter Woods.

He's a Clemson commit.

He's gonna be playing big-time football, but he's joined by JC McCurry, also Dylan Campbell, Caleb Ballard, then the linebacking corps of Ivie, Hampton, and Taylor.

And when you talk about Thompson, traditionally you talk DBs, and man, they don't get much better than Fegans, Harris, Ward, and Mitchell.

- [Rick] Well, brought a corner blitz that time, brought Tony Mitchell off of the edge, unblocked.

As you look from the left side of your screen, you're gonna see him come clean, not picked up by the Auburn offensive line, got to slide towards that late blitz.

And the early punch is thrown by the Thompson Warriors.

- [Landrum] Towns McGough will have to stand with his heels on his own 1-yard line.

It's a non-ideal first drive of the game.

Keith Etheredge and the Auburn Tigers, McGough, takes a little bit of an Auburn bounce, as it bounces across the 45 up to the 46, a great starting field position for this Warrior team.

And we talk about offense, as you look at one of the Thompson Warrior assistants.

That is Ross Newton.

Ross Newton, serving on the Auburn staff for Gus Malzahn, traveling to Central Florida and then back to the Birmingham area this just past year and serving in as assistant.

And there he is, all, I don't know, what do you say, 13, 14 years of him?

- [Rick] Whatever you are in eighth grade.

- [Landrum] Trent Seaborn.

- [Rick] Yep.

- [Landrum] Eighth-grader.

- [Rick] Plays a pretty mean saxophone, too.

- [Landrum] Handoff up the middle.

It's the bread and butter of what we'll see from the Warriors tonight, as it was AJ Green getting the first carry.

And offensively upfront.

You look at that offensive line, a big offensive line: Ramil, Lillich, Holtzman, Warrs, and Walker.

And then the wideouts: Jones, Hearn, Korbyn Williams, Deuce Oliver, and also Green.

Green on the carry around the left side, broke a tackle, slung down, but not until after he picked up nine.

We'll take a look at the Auburn Tigers defensively.

Upfront you got Jordan Reese and Deuce White, and Rabren at one of the defensive ends.

Brown, Granberry, and Cleveland, they're in the middle, and then the secondary rounds out, Emilus, Young, King, and Davis.

Warriors quickly back at it, on first down.

And the handoff, that going to Kolby Hearn.

- [Rick] Well, when you said "Right back at it," Landrum, you're exactly right.

So far the speed of the game is being set by the guys in white.

They've been a step ahead of Auburn all night so far tonight, but, of course, we're just getting started.

But an impressive start by the Thompson Warriors.

- [Landrum] And Hearn, they'll use him on a variety of ways.

He's listed as a wide receiver, but he'll tote the football.

Back to the ground attack.

AJ Green running behind the big guys upfront on the left side of that offensive line.

We'll send it down to Christina Chambers, who's standing down on the sideline.

Christina.

- [Christina] That's right, guys.

Eighth-grade quarterback Trent Seaborn making history here today.

I spoke with the AHSAA and they said he is the first eighth-grader to start in a key role like quarterback in this championship game.

He says they've had some eighth-graders play before in the younger classification, but in the upper classes they have never seen this.

Seaborn making history here tonight.

- [Landrum] Thank you so much.

Seaborn with a completed pass, and that one going to Korbyn Williams there on the outside for a short gain.

What are you seeing from Thompson here early?

- [Rick] Well, I think they're doing a good job of mixing things up, and their offensive line right now is controlling the line of scrimmage.

- [Landrum] Green once again off the left side.

He's gonna break one tackle and then you had Auburn Tigers in pursuit, rallying to the football.

And it was Deuce White, defensive tackle, as the Warriors have reached the red zone, presented by our friends at Alabama Votes.

- [Rick] You know that kinda shows you, Landrum, kinda how this game is going early.

That play was not very clean, still picked up seven yards.

- [Landrum] Alabama Votes red zone, brought to you by the Alabama Secretary of State.

Third down, well they can still get a first down.

Call it one.

Green, on the left side, is gonna be very close to the yard to gain, or the line to gain.

- [Rick] I think he's got it.

- [Landrum] This Thompson football team, I think you described it best, as they kind of rode that plane for a while, and then instead of taking the trajectory or the slow climb, then he shot, - [Rick] That's exactly right.

- [Landrum] Meteorically, right to the top.

- [Rick] 90 degrees straight up.

I mean, the team that played Hoover one and the team that played Hoover two are two completely different clubs.

- [Landrum] Green once again, finds it a little tougher on the inside and attacking the defensive line for the Tigers.

- [Rick] I've been a little bit surprised by the Auburn defense to this point.

They've been a little more vanilla than I've seen them.

I've seen 'em you know, three times this year, and as I said, they're a little more basic than I thought they would be coming out.

- [Landrum] Deuce White there on the defensive line.

(marching band music) So Seaborn out of the shotgun, hands it off to Green.

Green fighting for the goal line.

He's gonna be stood up shy.

(crowd cheers) You hear it from the Auburn crowd on this side of the field.

Big number 75 stepping up for the Tigers, coming up with a big-time play and he is a big man.

- [Rick] I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see, as you see that good stiff interior play by the Auburn defense, to see Seaborn pull that thing out and keep it somewhere along the line from that set, he was unattended.

- [Landrum] Mark Toland also credited with a tackle, number 21.

And a time out on the field.

- Time out, Thompson.

First charged time out of the half.

- [Landrum] 6:20 left here in this first quarter of the 7A State Championship.

And our Super 7 Schedule, presented by Children's of Alabama.

Earlier today, we had the Flag Football Championship.

Auburn winning that one over Oxford.

And coming up tomorrow, beginning at 11, you have Piedmont and St. James in the 3A clash, and then your midday, or matinee game, you have Pickens County taking on Leroy, and then the Bears, Ramsay and Charles Henderson coming up tomorrow night in the 5A Championship.

Then on Friday, the 4A, between Cherokee County and Andalusia, Fyffe and BB Comer in the 2A Championship, and Mountain Brook, a return to the 6A title game, taking on a very, very talented Saraland team.

It's going to be an exciting week of football.

What a great start.

- [Rick] Oh, yeah.

Lots of storylines in every one of those games.

It is.

It's going to be another great Super 7.

- [Landrum] Great look at Mark Freeman.

A lot of games, a lot of wins.

Got started at Bessemer Academy.

Very successful as a baseball coach as well as a football coach, as you can imagine.

His Warriors knocking on the door, on 3rd & goal.

Up the left side.

(whistle blows) And our first score of the game!

And it's Green from a yard out!

And the Warriors take the early lead, 6-0!

- [Rick] Well, if you're a Thompson Warrior coach, it couldn't have been drawn up any better than this has.

Watch Green right here.

He's just gonna slip to the outside, right to the right of the screen, finds that little daylight right there, gets behind his blockers, uses that great vision and gets the Warriors on the board.

- [Landrum] That is our Department of Human Resources touchdown.

Department of Human Resources.

Changing lives for families throughout Alabama.

The extra point try is good, 7-0, Warriors, as the LED light show starts inside of Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Well, you saw the defense start out for Thompson, set up short field position for the offense and they cap it off with the power run game.

- [Rick] Well the thing you see there, you don't see one black shirt penetrate the line of scrimmage.

We said the offensive line play and the upfront play was gonna be so important.

Right now, Thompson has 35 yards rushing, Auburn has -7.

And I know it's early, but the early returns are wearing white.

- [Landrum] Talked about Mark Freeman at Thompson, 82-18 in his eight seasons.

Of course, three state titles, going back-to-back-to-back, 2019, 2020, and of course, last season.

Then at Bessemer Academy, 1998 to 2007, winning four state titles.

That man was successful in his own right, Auburn's head coach Keith Etheredge, what he was able to do, not only at Leeds but also other stops, most recently at Oxford, and then coming over to Auburn a couple of seasons ago.

- [Rick] Yeah, four titles at Leeds and one at Oxford.

These guys both know how to win.

- [Landrum] Thompson to kick it off.

The first kickoff we saw from Hughes traveled through the end zone.

Got a steady wind behind him, and just not quite through the end zone, but nine yards deep.

And Auburn will try it again, give it another crack.

Just take another look at the run by Green.

- [Rick] Just a nice little slide to the outside.

And I tell you, this is a big stat, I know it's early, but you know, I'm looking at those stats, I keep an eye on the rushing yardage, 38 to -7.

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(rock music) (rock music continues) (soaring music) - [Narrator] You can almost feel the shock waves from anti-aircraft fire, and hear the roar of a P-51 Mustang.

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But in the end, their skills, not their skin color, validated their legendary status.

This is Alabama.

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(soaring music) - Be a great coach.

We need you.

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Win without losses.

(rock music) - [Landrum] Welcome back inside Jordan-Hare.

You see the score, Thompson with the early 7-0 lead, 6:14 remaining in the first quarter.

Auburn with their second offensive possession, and they're trying a little razzle-dazzle there, but so far, Thompson not fooled at all.

The Tigers entering this possession, -4 total yards.

- [Rick] Yes, you know, that's part of the speed sweep series, which Auburn has used to great success this year.

We'll talk more about that in a minute.

There you see the Thompson scoring drive, really just the way that Thompson would've drawn it up.

Very methodical, leaned on that running game.

Of course, AJ Green took it in for the score.

- [Landrum] Scoring Drive presented by ALDOT.

Drive Safely, Alabama.

Quick pass, Pittman on 2nd down, not much room.

It is positive yardage.

And if there's a positive, I guess that would be one here in the earlygoing for this Tiger team.

We were talking about in the break though, this Auburn team looks a little unsettled here early.

- [Rick] Well, you know, you said the key words right there, "not much room", and there just hasn't been.

it seems like Thompson has been a step ahead on both sides of the ball this entire first quarter.

- [Landrum] You saw them dial up the corner blitz early.

We'll see what happens here on 3rd & long.

And that one, even if caught, there would've been nowhere to go.

You had Velcro coverage there on the outside, and it was Anquon Fegans, who leads this Warrior defense with nine interceptions.

There was nowhere to go, had that ball been caught.

- [Rick] And really a dangerous throw.

I mean, that was a speed out all the way to the wide side of the field.

A very difficult throw, and just, as you said, Landrum, nothing there.

- [Landrum] So Auburn, once again forced to punt it away deep inside their own territory.

And a flag is down.

Running in, you see the kicker, might be the call.

We will see, the call from the head official.

I thought that the ball might have been partially blocked, but you see the indication there from the official, and we'll get the call.

- Five yards.

- [Rick] It's gonna be a five-yard penalty.

- Running into the kicker, on the defense.

- [Landrum] So Tyler McKinnell, the Auburn punter, as you take a look here.

And then the collision, the Thompson fans don't like it.

But it was Tyler Hicks for the Warriors who came in, and his momentum carried him into the punter.

- [Rick] Now the ball is at the 47-yard line, which is really not great field position if you're Auburn.

I wouldn't be surprised if they don't decide to rekick this.

- [Landrum] I believe Thompson, in their first offensive drive, because by way of virtue of the Tigers having to kick from deep inside their own territory, kicking from their one, their starting field position was around the 46.

So this will be equivalent to that first drive.

And for Auburn's sake, the Tigers certainly hope has a different result.

As Mark Freeman looks on.

- [Rick] Well, I sound like a broken record, but it bears repeating that to this point, I mean this game has been a blueprint for exactly what that man right there wanted.

- [Landrum] Getting the quick start.

Fans still filing in, as the temperature continues to drop.

Mark Freeman, some last-minute instructions.

And we talk about Seaborn, the eighth-grade quarterback for the Warriors, but so far, and what Thompson's been able to do upfront with their offensive line and their running game, why go to the air?

- [Rick] Well, and that's the whole key to them offensively.

If they can run and stay ahead of the sticks, it takes a tremendous amount of pressure off of this young quarterback.

- [Landrum] First down for the Warriors, back to Green.

Green fighting through tackles.

And luckily, Auburn able to trip him up.

It was Pete Davis that came up and made the stop, otherwise that one could have gone for big yardage.

- [Rick] Yeah, he breaks that second tackle and he's gonna still be running.

- [Landrum] AJ Green, we saw a brief shot, coming into tonight, 179 carries, 1290 yards, 15 touchdowns.

You can add another one, the one he had tonight.

Warriors going deep!

They lull you to sleep with the run and then they hit you up top with a big play!

Touchdown and it's Kolby Hearn!

(crowd cheers) - [Rick] Yeah, Hearn just ran a little, ran a little?

Ran a drive route, which is a very skinny post, and defense sucked up into the run, one-on-one coverage on the outside, and really the defensive back kind of froze.

And this ball is laid out beautifully by this young eighth-grade quarterback.

(crowd cheers) (marching band music) - [Landrum] It certainly was.

And the wind, we thought could play a factor, but it didn't play a factor that time for Trent Seaborn.

Seaborn, 10 touchdowns, that's his 11th on the season.

To think, that's only playing three quarters of the season, not the starting quarterback to start.

Only two interceptions in those nine games entering tonight.

69%, the completion percentage.

And it's all Warriors early, 14-0.

4:46 remaining here in the first quarter.

(marching band music) - [Rick] You can see the play action fake is going to hold everyone at the line of scrimmage.

So one-on-one with the corner, corner freezes a little bit on the run as well, and it's really no contest, and a beautifully thrown ball.

- [Landrum] Kahnor Hughes, he has been busy, busy, busy.

Handles the kicking duties for the Warriors and he will tee one up once again, as Hearn adds the second touchdown of the night.

Auburn's gotta figure something out.

If anything, maybe a sustained drive just to keep that Thompson offense off the field.

- [Rick] Absolutely.

And you know, this kind of goes back to what we had talked about, is that Thompson threw the ball when they wanted to.

I mean, you know, it was a great, the play could not have been called more perfectly.

It was a great time to throw, and I don't think anybody expected a pass at that point in time.

- [Landrum] Two plays, 47 yards on the scoring drive.

Took all of 33 seconds.

- [Rick] And just looking at our stats, 98 yards total offense for Thompson, -1 one for Auburn.

- [Landrum] Another kickoff sailing into the end zone.

So what will Auburn be able to answer with offensively?

They've tried a little bit of everything in their first couple of possessions.

But Clyde Pittman, it's gonna rest on his shoulders, his arm, and really upfront, that Auburn offensive line, just not much movement so far against a very talented, a very big and athletic Warrior defensive line.

- [Rick] Well, I think first down is gonna be the key for 'em right here.

They've gotta start getting more positive yardage on first down and get ahead of those sticks down and distance-wise.

- [Landrum] Late motion for the Tigers as Pittman hands it off to his running back.

He breaks a tackle, reverses field, but you see how quickly the daylight closes with the pursuit of that athletic Warrior defense.

- [Rick] Yeah, you know, a lot of running, but the bottom line is it's 2nd & 10.

And you saw a little bit of the frustration on the face of DV Williams, their fine running back.

- [Landrum] You saw Jasiah Ward actually able to make the play and it was right at the line of scrimmage.

2nd down & 10, Pittman with a quick hitter, does find his receiver, gets a good block on the outside.

Something to smile about, as Jack Hudson hauls in his first catch of the game.

- [Rick] Yeah, a solid play, gets about five yards.

This 3rd & 5 now, I mean, this is the biggest play of the game to this point for Auburn.

Really, a first down in this situation is almost a must.

- [Landrum] Offensive line, the left side, anchored by highly-touted Bradyn Joiner.

It's Hudson again, coming across the middle.

He's trying to throw a ball in a phone booth against that Thompson defense.

Everybody's staying at home, keeping everything in front.

- [Rick] Well, this is a tunnel screen, and the reason it's called that is it's like you're running through a funnel.

But watch the Thompson interior linebackers rally to the football.

Watch them turn and run, and run this play down from behind and work through those blockers.

Excellent job right there by Seth Hampton, the weakside linebacker.

- [Landrum] Not only that, he had Hudson run into one of his offensive linemen trying to block, in Charles Reese.

Another punt for the Tigers.

This one, like it went off the side of the foot of Tyler McKinnell, the Auburn punter.

This will be the best starting field position Thompson will have, and the bad news for Auburn, they've scored touchdowns on both of their drives so far.

- [Rick] Yeah, this one's gonna start at the 36-yard line.

What's the country song?

"If it weren't for bad luck, I wouldn't have any luck at all."

And it really has been a rough, rough start for the Auburn Tigers.

- [Landrum] Thompson offense back on the field.

We've already seen the arm of Trent Seaborn, as he had the big hookup with his receiver Kolby Hearn, the last touchdown in that last drive.

The handoff on first down, good for a couple of yards.

He's going off the left side.

Michael Dujon, sophomore running back, who entered tonight nine touchdowns on the year, 80 carries, just under 600 yards on the season.

- [Rick] And of course, Dujon had the big game last week, 108 yards against Hoover.

He has really come on as the year has developed.

- [Landrum] Not a bad one-two punch, when you can rotate AJ Green and Michael Dujon.

2nd down & 8, ball on the 34 of Auburn.

Quick hitter, upended right at the 30, maybe just a hair past the 30, say an inch closer to the 29.

A plethora of playmakers and guys to go to for this Thompson offense.

Hauling that one in was Jaden Kelly Campbell.

- [Rick] Nice open field tackle by Graham Young for the Tigers.

- [Landrum] Third down, we'll call it four.

Seaborn.

Pass complete.

And that's what's so frustrating.

You can concentrate on AJ Green out of the backfield, then they can flare him out, and he can do that.

You have Kolby Hearn, who they can use out of the backfield.

And that's a first down, presented by our friends at the Alabama Department of Transportation.

- [Rick] A real well-designed play, too.

They used that motion, cleared out the weak side and then just set that gentleman down at about four yards, no defender near.

- [Landrum] Handoff to Green.

Green cuts it up, keeps making guys miss.

Finally, after 13, 14 yards.

And how many yards after contact for Green?

Auburn's got to get that figured out.

- [Rick] Well, he's had a bunch of yards after contact but he's also made some contact miss too.

A little bit of a high snap right there.

Watch him slip right by that first tackler and then right run right through the attempted tackle of Coleman Granberry.

- [Landrum] Low center of gravity for AJ Green.

5'10", 200-pounder.

He'll get it again.

A good job, nice penetration by the Auburn defense.

You had a few Tigers back there and able to bring him down right at the line of scrimmage.

So Thompson in the red zone.

That's brought to you by the Alabama Secretary of State.

Alabama Votes red zone.

Mark Freeman giving instructions to his eighth-grade quarterback, making high school history here in the state of Alabama in the state championship setting.

Glad you could be with us.

Green off the left side, using a block, and Auburn using the sideline as a defender with the boundary.

Right now, not a bad idea.

You could use all you could get on that side of the ball.

- [Rick] Yeah, ran a little counter play back to the short side, pretty well-defended.

Auburn did a good job of running to the football.

- [Landrum] 3rd down & 7.

Warriors can still pick up the first down if they're able to get the ball to the one.

10 on the play clock.

Seaborn looks to the Warriors' sideline.

1:10 left in this opening quarter.

Mark Freeman wants to call the timeout as the play clock was down to one.

- [Ref] Timeout.

- [Landrum] So the Warriors will talk about it.

And we will talk with the third member of our team, and it's Christina Chambers.

She's standing by.

Christina.

- Landrum, well one thing about eighth-grade quarterback Trent Seaborn is when he took over for Zach Sims, who suffered a concussion during the regular season, one thing that coach says is he's an old soul.

He loves classic rock, he takes all AP classes.

But one way in how he handles pressure on the field is playing saxophone in the band.

He says playing that instrument helps him on the field by reading defenses.

He said a lot of the stuff that he learns in the band room, reading sheet music and the band director, it goes twofold on the field.

He says it helps him learn defenses, while checking formations and schemes and players down the field.

And he says it's really helped him down the stretch in the playoffs since he's taken over this team.

- [Landrum] Thank you so much.

I already can't stand this kid.

AP classes, (Rick laughs) starting quarterback, eighth grade.

- [Rick] Just your basic eighth-grader.

- [Landrum] Plays the sax to relax!

I'm just kidding.

- [Rick] When I was in the eighth grade, I was trying to figure out what color socks to wear.

- [Landrum] (laughs) Trent Seaborn, what an incredible story.

And what's incredible is we're gonna see a lot more of him in the upcoming years.

Well, he's got his team in position to take a three-touchdown lead here on 3rd & 7.

Finding a man and he's wide open!

(crowd cheers) - [Rick] Well, that was a little scissors route against man coverage and the coverage obviously did not adjust, and wide open.

Pretty good in your first state championship game as an eighth-grader, you've thrown two touchdown passes in one quarter.

- [Landrum] Not too shabby at all.

That's Korbyn Williams on the receiving end.

A 5'9", 161-pound wide receiver.

You see him there in the shot, and the distribution going around.

So you've had Green with a touchdown run, you've had Hearn with a touchdown catch, and then there you get Korbyn Williams, as the extra point is up and good, 21-0.

It is all Thompson.

A big reason why, the Thompson offense, and you don't get any more open than that.

- [Rick] And again, it's a scissors route, the receivers cross, come off the play fake.

The man coverage is not able to adjust to it, wide open.

Boy, I tell you what, if somebody had told me it'd been 21-0 in the first quarter, I would've bet a lot of money against that.

And I would've lost every cent.

- [Landrum] Certainly not what we expected.

But isn't this indicative of what we've seen from this Thompson team late in the season?

And I think a prime example is what we saw at the Hoover Met with the rematch versus Hoover just a couple of weeks ago.

- [Rick] Yeah, I mean, you could tell that this team had peaked at the right time.

And you know, I think Auburn is a little bit shell-shocked right now.

And you know what you've gotta do is you've gotta focus.

You know, they say a football player's life is six seconds.

That's how long a play lasts, and that's what Auburn's gonna have to do.

They're gonna have to focus everything they can on one play at a time, and crawl out of this hole.

Still early, still lots to go, but they're gonna have to make some sudden changes here.

- [Landrum] John McGuire to kick it off for the Warriors.

Ball traveling into the end zone for the automatic touchback.

It's a broken record, but Auburn's gotta get something going.

As you take a look at that last scoring drive, presented by ALDOT.

Seven plays, 35 yards, ate up all of two minutes and 8 seconds.

- [Rick] And of course, you see that play was a 35-yard drive.

I mean, their field position has been just fantastic from a Thompson viewpoint, and they've certainly taken advantage of it.

- [Landrum] Let's see if Auburn can find something with their offense.

And nothing there.

Handing it off to the running back, DV Williams, dropped right at the line of scrimmage.

And I don't know if I have answers.

I know Coach Etheredge is trying to find answers, but everything that they've thrown at this Warrior defense so far, coach, it's just had little to no effect.

- [Rick] Well, Landrum, I don't know how you can say that.

They got six yards total offense for one quarter of play.

So I think you're exactly right.

(chuckles) I mean, it's just been total frustration.

They can't get into any rhythm.

They haven't been able to win on the line of scrimmage yet.

- [Landrum] Pittman will try to go to the air and he's swallowed up behind the line of scrimmage.

The play will lose a couple of yards, as it looked like he had decent pass protection, but that pass protection broke down quickly with those monsters upfront for Thompson.

- [Rick] Yeah, he tried to run a little 3 man, kind of a scat concept, which is one guy deep, one guy in, one guy out, but very well-defended by Thompson and nowhere to go with the football.

- [Landrum] McCurry and McDonald there in the middle for the Warriors.

And it's all Warriors, 21-0, from inside of Jordan-Hare.

We're back with second quarter action in a moment.

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(gentle piano music) (orchestral music crescendos) - [Eli Gold] The famous goal line stand, one of the most celebrated moments in Alabama sports history.

The Tide was leading the 1979 Sugar Bowl, when Penn State moved the ball to within 10 inches of the goal line.

Barry Krauss and Marty Lyons leaped over the pile to stop Nittany Lions running back Mike Guman and preserve the Tide's victory.

The win handed coach Paul Bear Bryant his fifth National Championship.

- [Landrum] Welcome back inside of Jordan-Hare Stadium, the Class 7A State Championship game.

As you can see, it is all Thompson.

The Warriors seeking their fourth straight state championship.

Landrum Roberts, Coach Rick Rhoades, and a very special guest, he's the CEO of Hi.Ed and it's Duwan Walker.

Duwan, welcome.

Hope you're doing well tonight.

- We're doing great, doing great.

Got a great game on our hands and an awesome night for football.

- So many great corporate sponsors making this broadcast possible, and Hi.Ed one of those.

And transitioning students into careers.

That could be student athletes, that could be students.

Tell us a little bit about your organization.

- Right, Hi.Ed is a web-based platform that onboards students.

And we have all on our platform, all on one, is K-12, two-year, four-year colleges, military and workforce, all on the same platform, where we transition students into career seamlessly.

- Well it's so wonderful and such a great setting to do it, with all of these student athletes.

And now with so many things that you can do, whether it's virtually, as we saw during the pandemic and how that's transitioned into 2022 and beyond.

Auburn with an opportunity, Coach Rick Rhoades, for their first explosive play of the game.

And Auburn just, unfortunately, having a hard time with execution.

- [Rick] Yeah, tried to run a little wheel route down the sideline.

Had him open for a minute, but again, too much pressure.

Pittman could not set his feet at all.

Right up the chute, you see big number 15 for Thompson.

That's Kelby Taylor, the inside linebacker, that came on the blitz.

- [Landrum] And unfortunately for the Tigers, Tyler McKinnell, the Auburn punter, has been very busy.

No pressure coming this time.

For the Warriors, fair catch called for and taken just inside of the 50-yard line.

And Thompson, maybe their worst starting field position of the night.

The Warriors will be set up here early in the second quarter, already leading 21-0.

And they've done it in a variety of ways.

They've done it setting up for the big play through the air and then using the ground game.

You just saw it, misdirection after the timeout and their latest touchdown.

And Mark Freeman and the Warriors, very impressive.

Duwan, I know that you knew coming into these games, the background, the bios, these two teams and their stories.

You never could have guessed we'd have 21-nothing after 12 minutes of play, right?

- [Duwan] I tell you, Thompson look like they've been here before.

Auburn, I'll tell you this, they have a seasoned coach and these kids will never quit, and it will be a four-quarter ballgame tonight.

- [Landrum] And it's Kolby Hearn, wide receiver, but they use him like a running back at times.

Goes around the right side.

There's a look at Keith Etheredge.

- [Rick] That's the best defensive stop that Auburn has had tonight.

And they had a little more pep in their giddy-up right there, but you did see a yellow flag late.

- [Landrum] And you see the look of concern.

It's almost like Coach Etheredge is saying, "Tell me, after our best defensive stop, - [Rick] Well that's- - [Landrum] That we didn't get a face mask!

- [Rick] That's kind of the way the night has gone.

But it looks like I see the white shirts backing up.

And this is the best series that Auburn has had tonight.

- [Landrum] Yeah, one of the keys tonight, as Mark Freeman, the Thompson head coach- - [Ref] Personal foul, against the offense, 15-yard penalty, from the end the run, first down.

- [Landrum] So it looked like the initial indication was a hold, and they might have tacked on another 15 yards.

Maybe just the 15 yards initially.

- [Rick] I think there was a personal foul in there somewhere.

Now this is by far the worst field position that Thompson has had, and brings up a pretty dicey 2nd & 25.

There's a little pop right there to the- - [Landrum] Trying to see what happened.

Pretty easy to see.

- [Rick] Yeah, by number 60 for Thompson, Noah Watts.

- Prior to the snap, false start, offense.

- [Rick] And five more tacked on to it there.

- Second down.

- [Landrum] Well, and a drive that started at Thompson's 47-yard line now is backed up to the 27-yard line.

- [Rick] Duwan, what's your best 2nd & 30 play?

(laughs) - [Duwan] I'll tell you what, you can just open up the playbook right here and just take your choice.

But there's a reason why both of these teams are in this game.

You haven't seen many penalties like that.

You know, tonight we've been fortunate, this was the first time we've seen penalties like this.

- [Landrum] Duwan, what are your thoughts on the eighth-grade quarterback, Trent Seaborn, we're seeing for Thompson tonight, number 12?

- [Duwan] Yeah, I tell you, I think we're gonna start looking at eighth-graders.

And I'll tell you what, the offensive line is doing an awesome job of giving him time to process and go through his reads, and he's doing a great job of delivery.

One thing he don't do a lot is hold the ball.

He get the ball out, and hats off to that offensive line.

- [Landrum] I know you'll appreciate this.

Christina giving us some background and bio on Seaborn.

And what she said, not only is the starting quarterback making history here tonight as an eighth-grader, but also takes AP classes and plays the saxophone to relax.

- [Duwan] Wow.

My kind of guy.

- [Landrum] But he can't relax now!

The pressure coming!

(crowd cheers) And a turnover!

(fans screaming loudly) Auburn bringing the pressure, forcing the turnover and the Tigers are in business!

You said it, coach!

- [Rick] Now, that's two out of three passes in this series where Auburn was able to get pressure.

You can see they're back to blitzing those linebackers, ran right through the attempted block by the running back, and that's the first big break for the Auburn Tigers.

Very, very nice penetration there by Coleman Granberry, the inside linebacker.

- [Landrum] How about big Caleb Pitts dropping back and getting the pick?

You said you've got to put them in predictable passing situations to be effective, and that's exactly what happened.

- [Rick] And that's that zone blitz.

And then they try to run a little option play to the outside and put it on the ground.

- [Landrum] That ruled a lateral so wisely, Auburn there to cover it up.

The play loses big yardage.

So just when something positive happens, Auburn steps on its toe.

But still, good news for the Tigers.

You're on the Thompson side of the 50, working at the 35, 2nd down & 19.

Pittman, winding up, throwing into traffic, and it's hauled in.

(crowd cheers) What a catch!

- [Rick] Well, it's a great throw, too.

I mean, he had to thread the needle now, put that right between the linebackers and right in front of the safety.

You're gonna see a window that's very, very tight, and that ball is right on the money.

- [Landrum] Marcellus Josephson.

- [Duwan] That's a great throw.

- [Landrum] You mentioned the concentration, getting hit as he caught the football.

Still shy of the first down on that 3rd & 2.

- [Rick] Looks like he's gonna be about half a yard short.

- [Landrum] So 4th down & 1.

- [Rick] Looks like they're gonna measure.

I think he's a little bit short.

My angle is not the best right here.

I'm hedging my bet already here, Landrum.

- [Duwan] Exactly.

It looked, it appears that he may be a little short.

It's important that Auburn get points here, even if it's just a field goal, to kind of ride this momentum a little bit.

- [Landrum] If you're just joining us, that is Duwan Walker.

He is the CEO of Hi.Ed, one of our great sponsors, in transitioning students into careers.

Tell us a little bit more about what Hi.Ed does for the young people.

- [Duwan] Yeah, Hi.Ed is a web-based platform that tracks NCAA eligibility.

You know, NCAA eligibility, there's a big difference between high school eligibility and NCAA.

Well, the eligibility is the same for all sports, males and females.

- [Landrum] And I don't wanna get too deep in the weeds, but name, image, and likeness, and all of that, entering into the fray, I'm sure that has some kind of domino effect on what you guys do.

- [Duwan] It definitely has.

It definitely has.

And it's a lot of different components that goes into play with the NCAA eligibility.

- [Landrum] 4th & 1!

Broken tackle!

Tigers on the board!

(crowd cheers loudly) - [Rick] Now Auburn got in an unbalanced line, put Bradyn Joiner over to the right side.

Williams did a great job of seeing the overshift and slid back to the left off this.

You can see this play starts right.

Now watch him slide back to his left.

Great job of reading the defensive over pursuit, and this game just got a lot more interesting, fellas!

- [Duwan] Exactly, that's exactly what Auburn needed at a time like this.

They ride that momentum, and let's see if they can continue to ride this wave.

- [Landrum] DV Williams lining up, taking the direct snap, running into his own blocker, reversing course, and finding his way into the end zone.

And finding its way through the upright's the extra point.

We got a new ballgame!

(crowd cheers) 21 to 7, the Tigers answer!

9:25 left in the first half, inside of Jordan-Hare Stadium.

And boy, you can hear the Auburn fans that have made the trip from just up the road.

They're into it.

(marching band music) You see where it all gets started.

And it was defensive pressure coming up the middle, forcing the young quarterback to make the mistake.

Then after a lateral and a failed first play, it was Clyde Pittman finding the hookup with Josephson there in traffic.

Then on the 4th & 1, running into his own block, but keeping his feet, DV Williams.

That's where we are.

I don't know if you would call that a relaxed look.

As you take a look at the scoring drive presented by ALDOT, but.

- [Rick] Most definitely not a relaxed look.

(Duwan laughs) Less painful look.

- [Duwan] Coach Etheredge understands, this is a, I mean, that's one of the battles in this war, and it's gonna be a long night, and he's gonna have to keep his guys up to continue to ride this wave.

- [Landrum] As you would expect, and we talked about this Auburn crowd, but you wouldn't think, okay, well it's an 87, 88,000 seat stadium.

But boy, as we look in our vantage point, this side of the field at the lower bowl, and look at all the royal blue and white that have filled up this bowl.

The band, the cheerleaders, the student section making a lot of noise.

- [Rick] Well and you know, they were kinda sitting on their hands now for most the first quarter, but they are rocking and rolling right now, and they will be a factor.

- [Landrum] So now the defense, after coming up with the big play that set up that touchdown drive, maybe playing with a little bit more confidence and maybe, just maybe, creating a little bit of doubt in that young man, Trent Seaborn.

- [Rick] It's gonna be interesting to see how they play it.

- [Landrum] Thompson back at it, quick hitter, but the knee hitting the ground, as pulling it in for the Warriors is number two, Deuce Oliver.

- [Rick] This is the second series in a row now that has started with a negative yardage play or a very short gain, to put 'em behind the sticks.

It's just so important now, that first down yardage.

- [Landrum] They lost two.

Warriors working from their own 18.

Seaborn.

A man comes in motion, whistle stops play.

Did Thompson call the time out?

No, there's a flag resting across the way, at the 20.

- Prior to the snap.

False start.

Offense.

5-yard penalty.

(crowd cheers) Still second down.

- [Rick] Couldn't see who moved early, but.

- [Landrum] Pretty steep.

- [Rick] Five yards right there.

- [Landrum] How quickly, coach, Duwan, things can change.

The momentum shift, just one little play.

Bringing pressure up the middle and you see what it sets up.

- [Duwan] It doesn't take much.

It's gonna be interesting to see how Thompson reacts.

- [Landrum] 2nd down & 17.

- [Duwan] You know, Thompson has done a great job of playing to their strength, which is their defense.

And so now, you know, their offense is gonna have to help them out here, and try to at least get some first downs so they can get, regain some field position.

- [Landrum] And off to Green, pursuit.

And he is knocked down, and pancaked hard from behind.

- [Rick] Yeah, you know, they brought the edge pressure that time and he really screamed off that corner and ran that thing down from behind.

I think that was Cade Rabren that made that play from the backside.

- [Landrum] Pursuit, pursuit, pursuit.

Right, guys?

- [Duwan] Name of the game.

- [Landrum] You saw it from Rabren that time.

3rd down & 13, didn't work so well last time.

They keep it on the ground, to play it safe.

Nowhere to go.

(crowd cheers) Warriors will have to punt it away.

And Auburn has flipped the script, as you take a look at the defense here.

- [Rick] Well, you can see those linebackers attack the line of scrimmage.

Frontside linebacker took that guard tackle gap right now, backside linebacker over the top.

Very, very aggressive.

How do you explain this?

I tell you, Gordon Brownwood, the ball ain't round and it takes funny bounces.

That's how you describe this wonderful sport.

- [Duwan] That's exactly right.

Those linebackers are playing downhill.

- [Rick] You know a little bit about that, coach.

- [Duwan] Know a little bit.

(group laughs) - [Landrum] Ean Nation back to receive.

It takes an Auburn roll.

(crowd cheers) That's what I try to get my 9 iron to do.

Oftentimes not successful.

- [Rick] I tell you what, you know, it's like whoever is going from left to right, you know, where's the magic, I don't know what it is.

But I mean, it's like the two teams just flipped roles right here.

- [Landrum] Well gentlemen, if we know anything, and things that happen inside this stadium, crazy things happen inside this stadium.

- [Duwan] This is the place it will happen, without a doubt.

- [Rick] I don't know what you're talking about.

(group laughs) - [Landrum] Sorry, coach.

I'm not trying to bring up bad memories.

- [Rick] Oh, me.

(laughs) - [Landrum] Landrum Roberts, Coach Rick Rhoades, and also the CEO of Hi.Ed, Duwan Walker, joining us here in the booth.

I hope you're enjoying our broadcast here on Alabama Public Television.

The AHSAA Super 7 Championships from here in Auburn, Alabama, the 7A Championship game.

Well, if you tuned in the first quarter and then you went away, you're wondering, "Well, what happened?"

It was 21-0, Thompson.

Auburn answering with a score, then a big defensive stop.

They have the ball.

Duwan, while we have a little bit of time, tell folks how they can find out more about Hi.Ed.

- [Duwan] Hi.Ed, you can go to our website, Hi.Ed, www.hiedgms.com - [Landrum] Clyde Pittman, Auburn looking a little more relaxed, and handing it off to DV Williams, who was able to take that 4th & 1 carry into the end zone.

Still you see more movement upfront with those big guys on the offensive line.

What's changed things in your mind, Coach Rick Rhoades, in what you've seen upfront?

Is it just effort, push?

- [Rick] Well, you know, it's really about the speed of the game, and for some reason, Auburn has it now.

I mean they are basically taking it to the Thompson defense.

Obviously, Thompson heard me, because they defended.

(Duwan laughs) Now that's the quarterback counter off the speed sweep.

That is the play that Pittman scored on last week against Central, the game winner.

Very well-defended by Thompson on that particular- - [Landrum] Does quarterback Clyde Pittman have the option to hand the ball off there?

Or is that just a direct, gotta keep it myself?

- [Rick] You know, it can be done either way.

I mean, that looked like that was a predetermined play.

- [Duwan] That's predetermined, right.

- [Landrum] 3rd down & 10, ball on the 45.

Pittman, three wide receivers to the left.

But he's looking this way.

You've got the one-on-one coverage.

Hudson, good coverage by Fegans to force a fourth down.

- [Rick] Yeah, just tried to go one-on-one.

It's always a tough route, you know, in a third and possession type of situation, 'cause it's really a fairly low percentage throw, very well-defended that time, and Auburn is gonna have to punt.

- [Landrum] Well, it's pick your poison, right?

All the DBs that you have in that talented Thompson secondary, and you have to go to number one when he's got single coverage on Hudson on the far side.

Well, Duwan, we appreciate you joining us.

Of course, all of our great sponsors here this week, but Hi.Ed certainly being one of those.

Thanks for joining us, and thanks for having your football knowledge here on our broadcast.

- [Duwan] Thanks for having us.

We enjoyed it.

- [Landrum] That's Duwan Walker, the CEO of Hi.Ed.

We continue from here inside Jordan-Hare, 21-7, Thompson.

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- Coach safely.

(whistle blows) - It's the mission.

(whistle blows) - It's the purpose.

- It's the law.

- [Coach Jana McGinnis] Coach safely.

Win without losses.

- [Landrum] Welcome back inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.

47 degrees, feels like 42, but it's heating up in the action, as Auburn has pulled closer.

Well, it doesn't end tonight.

The 7A Championship starts back tomorrow, right here from Auburn.

First day of December, 11 a.m., the 3A Championship, Piedmont and St. James.

That'll be followed by the 1A Championship, Pickens County and Leroy.

And tomorrow night you have Ramsay and Charles Henderson.

Then the 4A begins things on Friday, with Cherokee County and Andalusia.

The 2A Championship, Fyffe and BB Comer, and Mountain Brook and Saraland capping things off.

Thompson once again starting deep inside of their own territory, going to the ground.

Well, it looked easy early on.

But that Auburn defense playing a lot tougher.

Not much give on that defensive line, as Green maybe able to muster half a yard on that, coach.

- [Rick] Yeah, and that's a big reason why it was only half a yard.

That's Rico Spinks there in the middle.

6'2", 240-pound senior that stood pretty tall on that one.

- [Landrum] Trent Seaborn checking with his sidelines.

He gets the play call.

Play failed to gain.

As the Warriors work from their own 15, my right to left.

Green found a little bit of a crease, maybe three yards.

It'll bring up 3rd down & 7.

- [Rick] Now, you see right there, number 23 for Auburn.

That's Graham Young, that's one of the two safeties back there.

He made that play for a two-yard gain.

Watch out for play action pass now.

I guarantee you that the Thompson people in the box now have noticed that.

- [Landrum] We'll see what the Warriors elect to do here.

You would think, obvious passing situation.

The last time on a obvious passing situation, Auburn brought pressure, forced a turnover.

And indeed, the Warriors are gonna keep it on the ground.

And Auburn defense, after a gain of three yards for Green, able to form the wall.

He'll be well short of his first down, and Mark Freeman and Thompson will be forced to punt once more.

- [Rick] And you can kinda see that, you know.

You've got a young quarterback in a long yardage situation.

You're up by two scores.

Got a chance maybe that your really good running back can pop one, but good, sound, third down defense by the Auburn Tigers and unless something unforeseen happens, they should get this ball in pretty good field position.

- [Landrum] John McGuire, who wasn't sure he was going to have to punt tonight, if you watch the first quarter, all of a sudden he's gotten active.

Back to receive it for Auburn, Ean Nation.

So the Tigers, good field position.

So they'll have it from their own 47.

3:38 remaining here in this first half of play.

And at one point, we were talking about an Auburn team with six total yards.

Well, it really hasn't drastically changed, but it's been big plays and good field position.

- [Rick] Yes, it has.

And you know, you mentioned somebody that we might ought to mention just a minute, Ean Nation.

You know, he broke the school record with 72 catches this year, and he really has been a non-factor in this game so far.

I think the Tigers are probably gonna try to get him going.

- [Landrum] Your lips to their ears.

But it's Hudson drawing the one-on-one coverage to this side.

This time though, instead of Fegans drawing the matchup out of the secondary, it's Tony Mitchell.

And Mitchell, an Alabama commit, wearing number three.

- [Rick] Number seven player in Alabama.

That's a tough go, going one-on-one against that young man.

- [Landrum] Clyde Pittman on second down.

Joined by DV Williams out of the backfield.

Williams does find some daylight as he pushes ahead, keeps the feet moving.

The pile pushes across midfield.

They'll mark it at the 49.

So a third but manageable for this Auburn offense, with 3:22 left in the second quarter.

- [Rick] I saw something flying in the middle of the scrum.

Can't tell whether it was a flag or whether it was a piece of equipment.

- [Landrum] It was certainly the helmet of one of the Thompson defenders, big Peter Woods.

The Clemson commit, 6'4", 273-pound senior.

Will play for Dabo Swinney next year.

And Woods, what he was able to do coming in- - We have illegal participation against the defense.

The helmet came off and he continued to participate in the play.

15-yard penalty from the end of the run, results in a first down.

- [Rick] Boy, that's a big penalty.

And of course, - [Landrum] That is.

- [Rick] that's a safety factor.

- [Landrum] Well, that is a rule that you see a lot more.

And with the safety factor, of course, with head injuries and trying to protect the players, not only do you have to come out, but now if you continue to play without the helmet, they assess the 15 yards, call it illegal participation.

So it's a first down, off the left side.

Auburn running the football, DV Williams.

- [Rick] Boy, that's a huge penalty.

- [Landrum] Gain of four, spotted at the 31.

- [Rick] Now, let's talk about the significance of those four yards, okay.

You know, you're in four-down territory right here.

Four yards on first down opens up your entire playbook right here.

- [Landrum] Josephson going in motion.

Hand it off to the running back.

- [Rick] Bring that little crossbuck off of the speed sweep action.

Very well-defended by Thompson High.

- [Landrum] Get Josephson, correct me if I'm wrong, coach, we get Josephson going across the formation, eye discipline, trying to get everybody's eyes going that way.

And then you're gonna come to the weak side of the off side and Thompson doing a good job of staying at home.

And that ball just batted down.

And guess who?

The gentleman who just got flagged for losing his helmet and continuing to play.

Well, he kept his helmet that time and he put his big old hand up in the air, all 6'4" of him extending to 6'7", as you take a look here.

- [Rick] Well, and in modern football, that is such an important art to be able to knock that ball down, because the ball comes out so quick on so many of these RPOs and quick passing games, that you just can't get to the quarterback.

- [Landrum] Towns McGough lines up for the 46-yarder.

The hold is down, the kick is up.

Does it have the distance?

It does!

(crowd cheers) Towns McGough from 46 yards!

Might have been good from 47!

(Rick laughs) - [Rick] Well, he's been a clutch kicker.

He had the game winner against Hoover in the very first game of the year, and comes back with a big, big three points right there.

And this game just got a little tighter.

- [Landrum] So 21 to 10, the 10 unanswered.

I might have shorted him a couple yards.

- [Rick] Yeah, I think you did.

You know, he cleared that by a little bit.

- [Landrum] Wouldn't have been good from 60.

- [Rick] Absolutely not.

- [Landrum] But the wind playing a factor tonight.

- [Rick] Who was the pro kicker that missed one from 67 that would've would've won the game, came up a yard short.

67-yard field goal.

How about that?

("Feel it Still") - [Landrum] Everyone scoring tonight in this ballgame has scored with the wind.

That means going from our left to our right.

- [Rick] Well, I told you before the broadcast, at night the wind dies down, and it will.

It may not be tonight, but one night it will.

'Cause it's still blowing pretty good right here, and it's gonna continue to be a factor.

- [Landrum] Kickoffs presented by the Department of Human Resources.

♪ Ooh-ooh, I'm a rebel just for kicks now ♪ McGough trying to use the wind, push this ball into the end zone.

Got a good leg into that one and it'll travel eight yards deep into the end zone.

Thompson will have it at the 20, starting things with 2:17 left.

And our scoring drive, presented by ALDOT.

- [Rick] Yeah, 24 yards in six plays.

Of course, Auburn would've liked to have turned that great field position into seven, but on the board and tightened it up a little bit more.

Still though, still only 40 yards total offense.

Yards have still been hard to come by.

But back in this football game.

- [Landrum] A look at the Auburn head coach, Keith Etheredge.

Mention both of these coaches, multiple state titles at different stops.

Coach Etheridge, 172-56 overall.

His first state title coming back at Leeds in 2008, and another in 2010, another in 2014, going 25-3 over a two-year span in Oxford.

Coming to Auburn just last season, finishing 10-3, and of course this season, coming into tonight at 12-1.

2nd down & 11.

- [Rick] Yeah, real good pursuit again by that Auburn defense.

- [Landrum] Warriors not in a big hurry, with 1:35 left.

(crowd cheers) Dialing it up, and a beautiful pass and catch.

Trent Seaborn going to his wide receiver.

We called his name tonight.

Korbyn Williams.

- [Rick] Well they tried to do a little double move and watch Seaborn right here, watch him double-clutch it, and then has to reload again and puts the ball right on the money.

Folks, try to do that in your backyard sometime.

That is not easy to do, you know, to double-clutch and then load back up and throw a strike for a 40-yarder.

- [Landrum] And here's the thing, he had pretty good coverage by Andre Emilus.

- [Rick] Yeah, pretty good.

But that ball, you know, was up and over the outside shoulder, just impossible to defend.

- [Landrum] And not only that, you had a safety dropping back in coverage.

Seaborn takes a big hit, (crowd cheers) but once again, finding his receiver and no answer.

The second touchdown of the night for Korbyn Williams!

(crowd cheers) - [Rick] Well, what do you want a veteran quarterback to be able to do?

Stand in the pocket, take a shot, and throw a strike.

Well folks, you just saw an eighth-grader do that about as well as it can be done.

Because that was a fade route that was right on the money, with heat in the kitchen.

- [Landrum] 36-yard touchdown pass that was set up by the 45-yard pass, both times to Korbyn Williams, two touchdowns tonight.

Point after by McGuire's up and good.

28-10 our score, 1:22 remaining in this first half.

And once again, momentum has flipped, this time to the side of the Warriors.

- [Rick] Well, there's the double-clutch, and the ball thrown right over the top.

You saw the pressure that got to him just as he released.

Just a beautiful thrown ball, dropped right in there.

Great route as well on the other end.

Got the separation you want to have.

Boy, just when it looked like that Auburn was gonna come right back, why, Thompson snatches that momentum right back.

- [Landrum] Auburn with three timeouts.

Take a look at the Warriors' sideline.

And the sideline closest to us, right below us, all of those Auburn fans who were feeling it, making a lot of noise after falling down 21-0, having the 10 unanswered, looking like you got Thompson right where you want 'em, gonna get the ball back with those timeouts, get good field position.

And then big play, and then big play.

- [Rick] And it is really quiet on this sideline right now.

But Auburn again, we still have the wind.

A score here before half could make it interesting again.

- [Landrum] So Thompson proves you can score going against the wind in this stadium.

So we can put that one to bed.

Kickoff, fielded cleanly, and at the 11.

Did the ball come loose?

Thompson says it does.

They uncover the pile.

Auburn will keep the football, very fortunate for the Tigers.

- [Rick] Yeah, it was a little bit of a halfhearted point to the goal line for Thompson, but you could tell that they didn't really think they had it.

Well, Auburn needs a drive, and again, you know, I go back to what I said earlier, we really have not heard much at all from Ean Nation.

72 catches on the year, a school record, 1,000 yards receiving, 11 TDs.

And really to this point, correct me if I'm wrong, I don't think he's been a factor.

- [Landrum] Well, coach, you're absolutely right, and he'll draw the matchup of Ward on the outside, but it's Pittman going over the middle.

He's got a man, it's gonna be good for 11 yards.

The clock will stop.

It's Josephson hauling it in once again in traffic.

We've seen him do it already tonight and he does it again there.

- [Rick] And just get a little sit down right on the hash in the seam between the linebacker and the flat defender.

- [Landrum] Second catch for Josephson tonight.

Pittman right back to the air, rolls this way, finds him again.

(crowd cheers) Well it may be Ean Nation drawing the scouting report, the film work for this Thompson defense.

But number 10 has found himself open a couple of times and why not, if you're Clyde Pittman?

- [Rick] Absolutely.

- [Landrum] Keep going back to that well.

- [Rick] And that's really a nice catch, 'cause he got popped pretty good by Seth Hampton right after the catch.

- [Landrum] Pittman airing it out down the middle, trying to find Hudson, who he's looked at several times, and unfortunately for Hudson, Pittman has been off the marker.

There's been good coverage.

Looked like pretty good coverage there, but that ball thrown behind him.

- [Rick] And really it may have been fortunate that it was, 'cause if that ball would've led him into the middle of the field, there was a Thompson safety that was sitting right in the middle of the field and that one very well could have been picked.

- [Landrum] 33 seconds remaining.

Auburn still with those three timeouts.

They need to move the chains on 2nd & 10, as they work from their own 48.

Pittman, feels the pressure, has got to step up.

Pittman able to avoid couple of would-be Thompson tacklers, still manages just to get to the 50, a gain of two.

And now Coach Etheredge and the Tigers will have to burn one of those timeouts with 27 seconds remaining, and they'll face a 3rd & 8 when we come back.

- [Rick] Pretty good push.

You know, Thompson showed a three-man front, brought the fourth rusher with an inside linebacker and flushed the pocket pretty well.

Pittman, I think, did well to get two yards out of that.

You know, eight yards to go, 27 seconds left.

You know, you could be in four-down territory right here.

- [Landrum] Well, you want to think big, and I'll finish the thought in a moment.

We'll send it back down to the sideline.

The tird member of our team, Christina Chambers, standing by.

- Well Landrum, one thing that Coach Keith Etheredge of Auburn told me is he said this is one of the best teams he's been around from all of his stops and all of his coaching journeys.

He says here at Auburn, this team, he says we don't have a lot of four- and five-star guys, just a lot of players who work hard and play hard every single second.

He says that's what makes this group close and enjoyable to coach.

And he hopes that they can continue to fight and grind it out in the rest of this game in hopes of scoring a touchdown on this drive.

- [Landrum] Well thank you, Christina.

And that was one of the keys, as we talked about with this Auburn team, you've gotta get it to the fourth quarter.

And whether it's scoring a a touchdown here, or maybe just setting up McGough for another field goal try, if you can get it within two scores at halftime and Thompson's gonna get the ball to start the second half, you gotta feel pretty good.

- [Rick] Yeah, absolutely.

If they can get that done, that makes that first series of the second half just really, really crucial.

- [Landrum] Facing a 3rd & 8.

Pittman, going back to Josephson, knocked away last-minute, he did have Josephson streaking down the near sideline, but coming over to break it up in the athleticism out of the Warrior secondary, Tony Mitchell.

- [Rick] Yeah, Mitchell just kind of split the difference between two receivers of that side.

Made a nice break on the ball and batted that ball away with relative ease.

4th down and long yardage right here is gonna force a punt.

- [Landrum] 22 seconds left, so the Warriors will get it back.

You can see the quarterback for Auburn, Clyde Pittman.

Now coming up next, we've got a Halftime presented by Jefferson County.

I hear what Jefferson County residents say about how much they like Jefferson County.

Punt rolling to a stop just inside the 10-yard line.

With 10 seconds left, we'll see Mark Freeman's offense led by that young man.

Boy, tough as nails.

You can add that to all those positive attributes, coach, that we've seen.

We've seen him take hits, we've seen him keep composure, we've seen him dial up beautiful passes.

What can this kid not do?

- [Rick] Well, he's done it all tonight.

That's, I mean, there is no doubt about that.

- [Landrum] Seaborn tonight, 10-of-12, 157 yards, 3 touchdowns.

Did feel the pressure and had the pick set up the only Auburn touchdown tonight.

And he'll take a knee and his Warrior team will take a 28-10 lead into the locker room.

(horn blows) (crowd cheers) - [Rick] Well overall, this first half has gone about as well as it could for Coach Mark Freeman and the Thompson Warriors.

Of course, this halftime now becomes really, really, really crucial, obviously, for the Auburn Tigers.

They've got to find a way, first of all, to get a stop early and then get points on the board early in the second half.

I think that's gonna be real important.

- [Landrum] Well, the tale of the tape is the total yards as we enter halftime.

And a lot of it was that first quarter.

Auburn able to find some stops defensively.

But 220 yards for the Warriors versus just 66 for the Tigers.

We'll send it down to Christina Chambers standing by with Thompson head coach, Mark Freeman.

- Coach, you guys were able to get off to a fast start and sneak a touchdown in before the half.

How important was that?

- It was big, 'cause we get the ball coming out the second half.

And if we don't have a pick and we don't have a, you know, a penalty, a guy playing without his helmet, I don't know what he's supposed to do right there, but without the pick and the penalty, we played a really good first half.

We gotta come out here now and play really good.

They're gonna go in there, make some changes, we will too.

Come out, play the second half like you talk about, zero-zero.

But if we can play that good again, man, our team played good the first half.

Our offense put our defense in a bad hole right there in the beginning.

But other than that, I thought we played as good as we could play.

- All right, coach, thank you.

- Thank y'all.

- [Landrum] Well, I don't know what coach Mark Freeman's record is when leading at the half, but I'm guessing it's probably pretty good.

Well, we have the Halftime Show, presented by Jefferson County, coming up.

28-10, Warriors leading from Auburn.

We're back to Jordan-Hare in a moment.

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] What is a protector?

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We're by your side, helping you protect what matters most.

Because we're all protectors.

- Hi, I'm Lionel Richie.

And I have traveled all over the world, but I consider Tuskegee, Alabama, as my home, sweet, home.

I have such a pride in this state, and I know that there's something I need to tell you that's of great importance.

Vote, register to vote, and get your voter ID today.

It really is easy.

Easy like Sunday morning.

("Easy") (rock music) (rock music continues) - [Announcer] Are you an enthusiastic sports fan?

Want to have fun and get in on the action?

- [Speaker] Heck, yes!

That'd be awesome!

- [Announcer] Have great attention to detail?

Want to stay active?

- [Speaker] Definitely!

- [Announcer] Want to give back to the student athletes in your community?

- [Speaker] Obviously, yes!

- [Announcer] Then you'd make an excellent high school sports official!

(whistle blows) We need more officials in Alabama.

Because with no high school officials, there are no high school sports.

Sign up today at www.highschoolofficials.com (quiet music building) (intensifying music) - [Announcer] A game without a crowd is just a scrimmage.

A performance without an audience is just a rehearsal.

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- [Announcer 2] This message presented by the AHSAA.

- [Announcer] This is the Jefferson County Halftime Show.

- Here we are in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

We've got one half down in the Class 7A State Championship game.

Thompson High School ahead 28 to 10 over Auburn High School.

Coach Jack Crowe, your thoughts on what we saw in the first half?

- Well, Auburn had to play defense with their back up against the goal line the whole first half, and the consistency that Thompson had, they finally punched in and got a, you know, early lead.

I'll say this, now, let me say his name right.

Clyde Pittman is a competitor and when he got a little room, he made some things happen.

But the physicalness of the Thompson defensive front, it's just hard to build consistency around it.

Number 11 is a big-time football player, Peter Woods.

I don't know how we are letting him go to Clemson, is that what I'm hearing happening?

(Kevin laughs) Hey, hey, Nick, Hugh, you need to come to Thompson to keep this guy from leaving the state.

- Yeah, obviously big-time players on both sides of the ball.

So we'll be right back here on the Jefferson County Halftime Show from Auburn, Alabama.

(energetic music) - [Musician] I know it's early, but it's okay to move around in your seat.

Do what you've got to do!

(energetic music) All right, everybody in here, clap with me on this one, a'ight?

(energetic music) (siren blares) - Throughout my career, I've seen many crashes and a lot of the fatalities are from people who haven't worn their seat belt.

- Cars have rolled over multiple times.

- I've had people end up in lakes, ravines.

I've been looking for people in the woods for a couple hours before.

- Usually just about every bone in their body's broken, their organs have ruptured, and typically they die.

- You want to save a life?

Just simply click a button and put the seat belt on.

- [Paramedic] Seat belts really do save lives.

- [Announcer] What is a protector?

Is it always a hero, bigger than life?

Look and you'll find protectors all around us.

At Protective, it's at the heart of who we are.

For more than a century, millions have relied on us to make retirement more about wishes than worry, and life insurance more about legacy than loss.

We're by your side, helping you protect what matters most.

Because we're all protectors.

(dashboard beeps) (engine revs) (drink pours) (cell phone clicks) (tires skid) (cars crash) (dashboard beeps) - [Announcer] The internet.

It's how we learn, experience, and connect to the world.

But all of that powerful information needs a really powerful home.

A data center, like this world-class facility we invested $600 million to build, right here in Alabama.

But keeping the world's information at your fingertips isn't all we do.

Our data center supports thousands of jobs.

We provide resources to our community and generate more than a billion dollars for the state economy.

We're doing our part for a better Alabama.

Because Alabama is our home, too.

- [Announcer] Are you an enthusiastic sports fan?

Want to have fun and get in on the action?

- [Speaker] Heck, yes!

That'd be awesome!

- [Announcer] Have great attention to detail?

Want to stay active?

- [Speaker] Definitely!

- [Announcer] Want to give back to the student athletes in your community?

- [Speaker] Obviously, yes!

- [Announcer] Then you'd make an excellent high school sports official!

(whistle blows) We need more officials in Alabama.

Because with no high school officials, there are no high school sports.

Sign up today at www.highschoolofficials.com - [Announcer] Welcome back to the Jefferson County Halftime Show.

- And we're back here at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Thompson leading Auburn 28 to 10 at the half.

And now we're pleased to be welcomed by, or we should say we're pleased to be joined by.

Well, welcome Sean Strickler.

Sean, the cold weather, I think, is affecting my brain and my tongue.

Sean is the Vice President of Public Affairs for the Alabama Rural Electric.

Sean, tell us, first of all, welcome, and tell us about the cooperative.

- Kevin, it's great to be here.

It's great to be here for such a great football game.

The Alabama Electric Cooperatives are 22 small electric utilities that provide power to about 25% of the population, about 65% of the landmass in the state of Alabama.

We're the people out there in rural Alabama where the local community, hometown is everything, just like high school football here at the championships.

- So you guys are the boots on the ground, so to speak, in really working with local communities.

- Absolutely, whether it's economic development, or their schools, to make their schools a little bit better, sponsoring something like this in APT, what a great thing to bring it out on broadcast television so everyone has an opportunity to see some great football.

But the Electric Cooperatives have been long-term partners with their local communities, with the high schools, with economic development, education, all of the different things like that, to make sure that our local rural communities prosper.

- And that's one of the great things about this event, isn't it?

That we see schools that we're watching, two of the bigger schools in the state in Thompson and Auburn.

But we'll see Piedmont, we'll see schools from all across the state that maybe aren't as well-known on a larger stage, but they mean an awful lot in those communities.

- Oh, when Leroy comes here tomorrow afternoon, a little 1A school, they're gonna make as much noise as these folks from Auburn have.

Leroy, right in the middle of Clarke-Washington Electric Co-op.

What a fantastic opportunity for the co-ops to be a part of.

But even Auburn.

Tallapoosa River Electric Cooperative and Dixie Electric Cooperative serve part of the Auburn area.

So our co-op members are represented in the biggest game in the championships this year.

So it's a great opportunity for us to partner with APT and the High School Athletic Association to showcase some fantastic football.

- And you know, personally, what football means in these communities across the state.

You're a former football player yourself, although you played a little farther west, if I recall.

- Yeah, well, weather like this is what we're used to back in Idaho, where I grew up, and I don't know if you'd call what I did "play football".

It was a long time ago.

But it's great, this weather, it feels like football.

It really does, it feels like football.

A great atmosphere, a great opportunity.

But we're excited to be a part of this.

We're excited to have our co-op family, and it is about family, as we've seen on the commercials that have been airing throughout this program and will the next couple of days.

It really is a great opportunity.

And you know, the one thing that our co-ops are all about is local communities and reliable, affordable electricity.

We're trying to make sure that those folks in rural Alabama, the small towns out there, have an opportunity to come do some things like this.

- Right.

You keep the lights on for 'em, right?

- We try to, as much as we possibly can.

- Well, Sean Strickler, thank you so much for being with us and again, thank you for what Alabama Rural Electric does for communities across this state every day of the year.

- Well, we appreciate you and Alabama Public Television as well.

- Well, thank you.

All right, we're gonna wrap it up here for this segment.

We're gonna be back in a few minutes.

After a break, we're gonna look at the highlights from the first half.

Thompson leading Auburn, 28 to 10.

(energetic music) - [Musician] I know it's early, but it's okay to move around in your seat.

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- Don't you just love rain?

It's nature's way of watering the earth.

Thunderstorms are a different story.

Poppy really freaks out if the lights go off.

(thunder crashes) That's why we love Alabama Power.

As soon as it's safe, they work day and night to get the lights back on, fast.

Kind of like real-life superheroes.

I know they do it for everybody, but sometimes I think they do it just for Poppy.

Say thanks, Poppy.

(dog barks) (gentle music) - [Announcer] The Heisman Memorial Trophy is the oldest, most prestigious award in college football and state teams (horn beeps) five winners.

For the Alabama Crimson Tide, running backs Mark Ingram and Derek Henry won the Heismans in 2009 and 2015, respectively.

For the Auburn Tigers, quarterbacks Pat Sullivan and Cam Newton won the trophies in 1971 and 2010, while Bo Jackson was the winner in 1985.

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That wood fire oven.

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This is Alabama.

And when you're here, you can take it all in.

- [Announcer] Welcome back to the Jefferson County Halftime Show.

- We're halfway home here in the 7A State Championship game, Thompson High School leading Auburn, 28 to 10.

We're gonna take a look at the highlights from the first half, here with coach Jack Crowe.

Coach, let's see what transpired in that first half.

The Thompson defense, as you mentioned, came out strong.

- [Coach Crowe] And they never really gave Auburn's quarterback an opportunity to find receivers.

I mean, they were just on him all the time.

- [Kevin] And there's the freshman quarterback, or the eighth-grade quarterback, Trent Seaborn, hitting his receiver in stride.

- [Coach Crowe] And Auburn playing gritty against the run and putting it on the quarterback, except he made the plays.

- [Kevin] Incredible poise for an eighth-grader.

But then pressure always leads to trouble.

You see the interception and Auburn makes a comeback here.

- [Coach Crowe] Had time.

I mean he can throw.

They're just gonna have to maybe move him around a little bit to to give him some more time.

- [Kevin] Yeah, cause they're having trouble blocking him straight up, obviously, - [Coach Crowe] Straight up, yes.

- [Kevin] with that defensive front led by Peter Woods, the Clemson commit, as you mentioned earlier.

And then a 46-yard field goal for Auburn, pulls them back within 21 to 10, and it looks like we've got a ballgame.

And then here comes that man again, Trent Seaborn.

- [Coach Crowe] He doesn't look like an eighth-grader, I can tell you that.

- [Kevin] Dropped that one in there beautifully, didn't he?

- [Coach Crowe] Yeah, I mean, those are big-time balls right there.

- [Kevin] And then comes right back for a 36-yard touchdown.

They go 80 yards in four plays.

- [Coach Crowe] Yeah.

- [Kevin] To take a 28 to 10 lead.

- [Coach Crowe] Explosive plays will undo you.

And they certainly, if you put the... Auburn didn't have any explosive plays.

Thompson had six, and any anything more than three is trouble in one half.

- And you see the stats there, and obviously, a one-sided game from the stats.

All right, we're gonna be back for the second half.

Can Auburn make a big comeback and win this game?

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(energetic music) - [Landrum] Welcome back in to Auburn, Alabama, Jordan-Hare Stadium.

We hope you enjoyed Halftime presented by Jefferson County.

Landrum Roberts, Coach Rick Rhoades, and also Christina Chambers.

28-10, Thompson leading at the half.

And it doesn't stop here.

This is just the first day of action.

Earlier today, we had the Flag Football Championship, Auburn, the Auburn flag football team defeating Oxford, 26 to 6.

And then starting tomorrow, coach, we've got 3A's Championship, Piedmont and St. James.

Pickens County and the Leroy Bears follow them with the 1A championship at 3:00.

And then tomorrow night on this very field, Ramsay and Charles Henderson.

And then Friday is loaded with action as well, with Cherokee County and Andalusia, Fyffe and BB Comer in the 2A, and Mountain Brook and Saraland wind things up in the 6A championship.

And all of these matchups we're excited about.

You get elite teams, elite players on a big stage.

But the one there to cap things off and to put a bow on these championships, that's gonna be a really good one, with Mountain Brook and Saraland.

- [Rick] Two very different styles, too.

Mountain Brook will run the football and throw play action.

Saraland likes to spread the field and throw the ball all over the place.

You know, tomorrow's kind of a quarterback-a-rama.

Friday we'll have some really, really good running backs.

Cherokee County/Andalusia will have really some of the best running backs in the state of Alabama.

Cherokee County has a running back that had 300 yards rushing last week in the semifinals, so.

- [Landrum] Yeah, a lot of familiar teams that we've seen in these championships over the years.

And a coach that's very familiar with winning state championships and playing for them is Auburn's coach, Keith Etheredge, and he stands by right now with our own Christina Chambers.

Christina.

- Coach, what do you need to do to get the ball in Clyde Pittman's hands for him to open up the offense in the passing game?

- Well, we just, you know, we've blown a couple coverages.

You know, we had guys running wide.

We blew three coverages in that first half and all three of 'em ended up with touchdowns.

You know, we just gotta, we gotta settle down, you know, we're playing great on defense upfront.

We just gotta get some things straightened out in the secondary, and then just calm down and play offense.

The thing that, you know, offensively the first half, in the first quarter, we got backed up and we couldn't get anything going.

And then when we flipped the field, and then we got some points on the board.

So we just gotta keep from getting backed-up, and we gotta make sure we get good position, leave our defense in a good position.

Because you know, they was playing on our side of the field the whole first quarter.

- All right, coach.

Good luck.

- Thank you.

- [Landrum] And he mentioned some of the blown coverages.

The eighth-grader, Trent Seaborn, still got the baby face, but boy, he's got a big-time arm.

10-of-12 in the first half, look at that.

157 yards and 3 touchdowns, coach.

- [Rick] You know, that's really pretty phenomenal for an eighth-grader.

The numbers speak for themselves.

Solid first half for Clyde Pittman.

You know, you'd like to see that completion percentage a little bit more.

And of course, I keep going back to the fact that the star receiver for Auburn, Ean Nation, has one catch for three yards and has just not been a factor.

But back to Seaborn, just to, I don't know how you could have a better first half by an eighth-grade quarterback.

- [Landrum] Yeah, you mentioned Ean Nation, only one catch for three yards.

But it was a bright spot for the Auburn offense in Marcellus Josephson, who was able to haul in three catches for 72 yards.

But it was all Warriors early.

You see the touchdown by Green and then look at the dial-up, Seaborn to one of those talented Warrior receivers.

- [Rick] Yeah, that was a great call on a play action pass and then a little switch route right there for a score.

And in the second quarter, Auburn's defense will rise up, get some pressure, force the errant throw.

- [Landrum] And that was able to set up the first touchdown and this one coming on a 4th & 1, with DV Williams reversing course.

But then, Thompson, just when you think you got the Warriors backed up, you're gonna get the ball back, well, blown coverages, we heard Coach Etheredge talk about it.

And that time it was Trent Seaborn finding Korbyn Williams, found him twice in the end zone in the first half, and 28 to 10.

And one of the other bright spots, the Auburn kicking game.

A State Super 7 record for Towns McGough with a 47-yard field goal.

But Auburn, to get back in this game, and he knows it, they're gonna have to have touchdowns.

- [Rick] Well, they are, and it's gonna be tough against this Thompson defense.

Here's some numbers from the first half.

Auburn had -19 yards rushing, only 66 total yards offense, 0-for-8 in third down conversions, and averaged only 2.3 yards a play.

Obviously, they're gonna have to improve on that.

But right now to start this half, they're gonna have to get a great stop, get field position, and see if they can't close this margin a little bit.

- [Landrum] Keith Etheredge, you saw him, the Auburn head coach.

Now you look at the Thompson sideline.

They're accustomed to this.

And of course, Mark Freeman, what he said in the first half, not a whole lot to be unhappy about with the 21-point first quarter.

And then when it seemed like momentum had shifted the way of Auburn, and it had, Thompson able to take it right back and put a dagger in the heart of Tiger fans to end that first half.

Our kickoff presented by the Department of Human Resources.

As we're underway in the second quarter of the 7A State Championship game.

I'm glad you could be with us.

Landrum Roberts, Rick Rhoades, Christina Chambers, who you just heard from, and the Super 7 inside of Jordan-Hare Stadium, the wind still gusting.

I don't know that old adage that people said, you know, here in the state of Alabama, when it gets dark, the wind stops blowing.

- [Rick] I don't know what kind of fool would say that.

I mean, obviously, it's not true.

(laughs) - [Landrum] (laughs) It is not true right now, as Trent Seaborn, 10-of-12.

- [Rick] That doggone flag is blowing harder than it has the entire night.

(laughs) - [Landrum] It's like Omaha in December.

10-of-12, 157 yards, 3 touchdowns, and an interception.

- [Rick] Look out!

- [Landrum] He goes to the ground.

Big play for the Warriors, it's Green!

(crowd cheers) (airhorn blows) 80 yards to start things for Thompson!

Second touchdown of the night for talented junior running back AJ Green!

- [Rick] Well, first of all, a huge hole at the line of scrimmage, and then Green breaks the tackle of the safety to that side and the corner, to the top of the screen, for some reason, was on the ground.

I don't know whether he slipped or was blocked.

That's the guy that can re-revolve back through the secondary and maybe have a chance to keep him from going for a touchdown.

But, boy, you talk about coming out of the locker room blazing.

I mean, I could have run through that hole, not for 88 yards, but I could have gotten through the hole.

- [Landrum] Well, they had 17 carries for 63 yards in the first half.

Now 143 yards, 2 touchdowns, as you take a look at the replay.

- [Rick] Yeah, this is a trap block.

You see that corner on the ground could have been there to make the play, but a very nice kick out by the right guard.

And this is just the old-fashioned trap play and drilled to perfection.

You see again, you see the kick out block right there and a huge lane to run through.

You see the safety missing the tackle and it's goodnight, Irene.

- [Landrum] Yeah, Auburn bringing the safety down in the box, expecting to play the run using the extra defender.

But Andrew King coming up with air.

- [Rick] Well, if you're a Thompson fan, I guess you could start the second half better, but I don't know how.

And now that mountain got real high for the Auburn Tigers.

- [Landrum] 35-10 in just 12 seconds elapsing.

And the Thompson faithful making the way over from Alabaster, Alabama.

John McGuire has been very busy, especially here in the late part of the season.

Been busy tonight.

- [Rick] Well, and that- - [Landrum] Set to kickoff.

- [Rick] And that student section for Thompson, they're very colorful, by the way.

They're decked out over there.

They are rocking and rolling right now.

- [Landrum] Their holiday colors on.

Start the 25-day countdown coming up tomorrow.

And on the return for the Auburn Tigers, it's Tyler Flakes.

And Flakes able to get it past the 20-yard line.

As we'll see Clyde Pittman and this Auburn offense go to work.

Ean Nation, we talked about him.

Only one catch for three yards.

They gotta find a way to get their number one playmaker going.

- [Rick] Yeah, they gotta get all their weapons going right now.

You're exactly right, Landrum.

I mean, obviously, they need points.

- [Landrum] Nation and Hudson line up to this near side.

DV Williams, the running back.

Now on first down.

Boy, talk about making a statement!

Peter Woods, the Clemson commit.

6'4", they say 273, looks more like 290 and quick as a cat.

Watch the power and the exclamation.

- [Rick] I believe that's called an upright suplex in professional wrestling.

And that will discourage you from running the middle.

- [Landrum] Well, you pointed it out, impact player, and quite the impact, impact to the turf here at Pat Dye Field.

Go one over the middle, and it's intercepted!

- [Rick] Well, they had been working that middle and threading the needle on that safety, but that time Kaleb Harris, Johnny-on-the-spot, drove on that ball.

And of course, when the ball's in the air, it's either man's ball, and just a great job by the junior safety.

- [Landrum] Kaleb Harris, fifth interception on the year.

Has offers from Auburn, Arkansas, Jackson State, as well as Alabama State.

- [Rick] And I think we saw why.

- [Landrum] The late break, able to secure it.

And back to the ground game for the Thompson Warriors, as they work from the Tiger side of the 50.

Dujon comes in the game, so Green will get a rest after the one carry and the 80-yard scamper to start things here in this second half.

- [Rick] Boy, I tell you, you know what an impressive.

You know, your coaches always say, "Hey, you gotta win the first four minutes and the last four minutes of each half."

You know, that's what we're saying.

Man, I tell you what, Thompson is living that right now.

What an impressive drive.

- [Landrum] Dujon got some blocks down the field, scampers out of bounds, is forced out at the 29.

The play is good for a first down.

The chains move.

Still only a minute and a half gone by, here in this third quarter.

Thompson trying to add their second touchdown, as Mark Freeman looks on, he's gotta be pretty comfortable.

His team leading 35 to 10.

The epitome of comfortable is Trent Seaborn, the Warrior quarterback, as he hands off to Dujon again.

Dujon keeping the feet moving.

The sophomore able to push ahead for four yards.

And it's 2nd down & 6 from the 25.

- [Rick] Yeah, they inserted the H-back in there.

Another little trap play back to the inside, and good tough running inside by that young man right there, who has had limited action tonight.

- [Landrum] Not a bad one-two punch.

AJ Green, the starter, came in with almost 1300 yards on the ground.

He's added a couple of touchdowns.

We saw the 80-yard scamper to start things.

And Michael Dujon coming in tonight, nine touchdowns, right at 600 yards.

- [Rick] And of course, had 108 yards last week in the big semifinal win over Hoover, and good tough running that time to bring up this 3rd & 1.

- [Landrum] So 3rd down & 1, Thompson substituting.

Seaborn, using a man in motion to go with a power set.

Dujon.

He's got his first down.

You can tack on about seven more.

More hard running for the Warriors sophomore running back.

- [Rick] I tell you what, you know, this drive right here, Thompson has taken that football, put salt and pepper on it, and said, "Somebody's gonna eat this football.

We're coming right at you."

- [Landrum] The Alabama Votes red zone brought to you by the Secretary of State, here in the great state of Alabama.

First down and 10, Warriors can still get a first down by getting to the 2-yard line, but the Auburn defense stretching things out.

We've called his name a couple of times tonight, coming up with a big hit, and that's Klark Cleveland.

- [Rick] Yeah, this is good job of stringing this out.

You can see those black shirts play it inside-out, force it in the perimeter, and that edge player does just what they're supposed to.

Now prior to that play, Thompson was averaging eight yards a carry in their running game.

Of course, that's gonna put a dent in it right there.

Brings up this 2nd down & 12.

- [Landrum] Officially they'll call it 13, as they spot the ball on the 15-yard line.

Trent Seaborn.

Dujon again tries the heart of that defense for Auburn.

The Tigers not breaking there.

So 3rd down & long.

This is where you want Thompson.

You say that, you were able to force some pressure on Seaborn, the one mistake he's made tonight, throwing the interception that set up the first Auburn score.

But then, you see them dial up a couple of pass plays where his wide receivers just manage to get open.

Let's see what Freeman and his offense elect to do here.

- [Rick] Korbyn Williams has been the guy, he's at the top of the screen as you look at it.

- [Landrum] They go to the right side, flags are down.

That's Green, tiptoeing the sideline.

Forced out just shy of the first down, but hold everything.

- [Rick] I think that's gonna be a hold.

- [Landrum] Pun intended, and it is.

So Warriors will be backed-up 10 yards.

- Holding, offense.

10-yard penalty from the spot of the foul.

Replay third down.

- [Rick] And it looks like maybe the right tackle, right there.

You can see he's got a right hand full of black jersey.

And rightfully called.

- [Landrum] It's hard enough for the Auburn defenders and that one linebacker, Klark Cleveland, against this potent Warrior offense, but it's really hard to be swallowed up and grabbed by one of those big offensive linemen for the Warriors.

After the penalty's stepped off, 3rd and 22, ball on the 24.

Seaborn, going up top.

(crowd cheers) Touchdown!

Wow!

- [Rick] Well, it looks like a film loop that we're on, just coming back, over and over again.

But what makes this play, this is a straight go route.

It's just a streak right down the field.

And what you teach your quarterbacks is throw the ball over the outside shoulder, where the receiver's body is between the defender and the ball.

And that's exactly what Seaborn does right there.

Just a beautifully thrown pass, impossible to defend.

Great route by that young man.

And I tell you, we talked a lot about Seaborn, but man, that young man, Korbyn Williams, has had quite a night himself.

- [Landrum] Fourth touchdown pass for eighth-grader Trent Seaborn.

And for Korbyn Williams, five catches, 117 yards, 3 touchdowns.

This, the latest one.

- [Rick] Well, watch the placement of the ball right here, right over that outside shoulder.

And you can see the receiver's body is between the defender and the football.

Just really no way to defend that.

Just another day at the office.

- [Landrum] I don't know if Seaborn will need to go play the saxophone right now.

He looks pretty relaxed.

- [Rick] He'll be playing that thing all weekend.

(laughs) - [Landrum] Scoring drive presented by ALDOT.

Eight plays, 40 yards, capped off by the 25-yard touchdown pass to that man, Korbyn Williams.

42 to 10, our score.

And it was 21-nothing, then 10 unanswered in the second quarter pulled Auburn to within two scores.

And then the late touchdown in the second quarter made it Thompson 28-10.

You had a Green run of 80 yards, the first play for Thompson.

And a pick in the defense that set up that drive.

Making it look really, really easy right now.

As McGuire gets the kick off, fielded against the wind, inside the five.

That's Flakes, flag coming down, thrown behind the play at the 11.

We await the call.

- [Rick] Yeah, I'm wondering if this might be a block in the back.

On Auburn, and that is what it is.

An Auburn kick return guy peeled back, and I think, obviously it was a block in the back, 'cause it was called.

- [Spectator 1] That was not a block in the back!

- [Spectator 2] That's terrible!

- [Rick] Take a look right here in the center of your screen.

You can see the block, right, looked like right in the back of the armpit.

And of course, this is gonna set up Auburn with field position on their own 5-yard line.

- [Ref] Block in the back during the return, on the return team.

Half the distance to the goal, first down.

- [Landrum] Ty Hudson whistled for it, for the Tigers.

And unfortunately, did it right in front of the official.

So, instead of having the ball out near the 20-yard line, as if it wasn't tough enough, Clyde Pittman and the Tigers start it from their own six.

Going back to the air, tipped up, almost intercepted again.

Well, I can't blame Keith Etheredge and this Auburn offense for going through the air.

I mean, the score kind of dictating that.

But when you go into the center of the field, and what Thompson has back there in the secondary, you are asking for it.

- [Rick] Well, you know, you're throwing the post route in the middle of the field, and I mean, the Thompson defense has got, well that time there were three white shirts right around it.

You know, you've gotta maybe work a little bit wider with your stuff, try to spray the ball around a little bit more.

- [Landrum] Pittman looking and firing in.

He had a man on the ground.

Incomplete, as the ball comes up short.

And we'll send it down to Christina Chambers, talking a little more about that Warrior defense.

- [Christina] That's right, Landrum.

Peter Woods, I talked to him before the game, and he said this state championship, it's personal.

He has won three, along with the other group of seniors on this team.

And he said this one is like putting the cherry on top of a sundae.

He said when you look at their roster, they don't have a lot of five-star players, but he said it's this team and the grit that they play with, just like that, that he said has carried them into the playoffs and into this game.

He said for him, it's personal, and he wants to win another state championship and end his senior season with four rings.

- [Landrum] Thanks so much.

Let's take a look at the pressure.

Once again, Peter Woods.

Clyde Pittman able to get it away, and dump it off to DV Williams.

- [Rick] Well, this is a screen that is set up pretty well, but a very nice job knifing through the protection to bring up this fourth down.

And Auburn will be punting from the shadow of their own goal post.

- [Landrum] And I'm not a predictor of the future, but I got news for Peter Woods.

Eighth-grade quarterback has a chance to win five, if this score holds up.

- [Rick] Yes he does.

- [Landrum] Here tonight, as the punt, fielded.

Pretty good coverage.

And that's where Thompson will have it, with 5:29 left and leading comfortably, 42 to 10.

We're back to Jordan-Hare in a moment.

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And I have traveled all over the world, but I consider Tuskegee, Alabama, as my home, sweet, home.

I have such a pride in this state, and I know that there's something I need to tell you that's of great importance.

Vote, register to vote, and get your voter ID today.

It really is easy.

Easy like Sunday morning.

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Want to have fun and get in on the action?

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Sign up today at www.highschoolofficials.com (upbeat music) - [Landrum] Well, the feels-like inside of Jordan-Hare Stadium tonight for the 7A championship right now at 39 degrees, the wind out of the north with gusts up to 24 miles per hour.

Coach, I don't know if you brought firewood, but we've run out clothes to put on here in the booth.

- [Rick] All I can tell you is it's very fortunate for these tables that they're not made out of wood, 'cause.

(laughs) But that guy's not cold.

He's been red-hot.

- [Landrum] No, it's not bothering the Thompson Warriors, as they lead 42 to 10, a little over five minutes to go.

It has been all Warriors here in the second half, and it was capped off by a late score in the first half and they've continued that, getting the ball back, scoring on consecutive possessions.

And Auburn, the little bit of offensive success they were able to find in that second quarter they have been unable to find it.

And Thompson and Mark Freeman just tightening the screws on Coach Keith Etheredge and his Tigers.

- [Rick] Well, 350 total yards of offense for Thompson, 64 for Auburn, -21 yards rushing.

That about tells the story.

- [Landrum] Trent Seaborn handing it off to his running back, AJ Green.

And Green tonight, prior to that carry, 18 totes for 143 yards, 2 touchdowns, the 80-yarder from scrimmage to start things, here in the second half.

- [Rick] A pretty good night's work.

- [Landrum] Not bad.

I would guess that we will see a lot more of the Thompson running game, but just when you say that, it's Trent Seaborn dialing it up to one of his receivers.

We might see it here on 3rd & 4, with the ball on the Auburn 40.

Seaborn, there he goes again.

Just through the hands, and a late flag coming in.

Pass interference, most likely the call, as Kolby Hearn was the intended receiver.

There is a Warrior offensive lineman down, and we'll wait for it.

But into double coverage, and even on the incompletion, Trent Seaborn and the throw.

- [Rick] Yeah, I mean the throw was in pretty good shape, and you can see that hand on that shoulder, left hand on the right shoulder of the receiver and, that'll be 15.

- Defensive pass interference.

15 Yards from the previous spot.

First down.

- [Landrum] So they'll mark the ball at the 25, a fresh set of downs.

The chains move, with 3:59 left.

- [Rick] You know, it's kind of the old adage, you know, if I can throw the ball vertical and you can't cover it, I really don't need to do much of anything else.

And Thompson has really been able to throw the ball deep almost at will so far tonight.

- [Landrum] 182 yards for Trent Seaborn.

- [Rick] 11-for-13.

That's not a bad night's work, either.

- [Landrum] Checking with his offensive line on first down.

AJ Green.

Green stacked up, chopped down, two yards behind the line of scrimmage.

A good play by the Auburn defense to spell that one out and get some penetration.

- [Rick] A big pop right there by Octavian Brown, the 5'11", 185-pound senior defensive end.

- [Landrum] So after the loss, 2nd down & 12, as Thompson works from the Tiger 27.

Clock on the move.

3:22 left in this third quarter.

Not the score we expected in this clash, of course, Thompson, last week or two weeks ago, a very impressive win over Hoover in that rematch, a team that shut them out in the first meeting of the season, and it was Thompson dominating.

And then Auburn, a little bit of a tougher, but just as great of a feat, to knock off a very good Central Phenix City team on the road, 14 to 13.

But they have run into a different animal here tonight.

Seaborn backing up on third down.

Pass deflected, still caught.

And still on his feet!

When things are going right, they are going right!

And it's a touchdown!

Another, the third of the night, for Korbyn Williams!

- [Rick] Sometimes it's just your night.

Auburn brings the blitz, very well picked up by the Thompson protection.

Ball is tipped, though.

And really a nice heads-up play, obviously, by Williams and then breaks yet another tackle and in the end zone again.

Wow, what an impressive performance by the Thompson Warriors!

- [Landrum] And I cheated Korbyn Williams.

He's had so many, I can't keep track.

6 catches, 142 yards, 4 touchdowns!

- [Rick] He's had a pretty good night.

- [Landrum] You catch a ball off a deflected pass.

You have Auburn receivers that are able to gather themselves.

Then you spin off and break a tackle, and you scamper to the end zone.

- [Rick] And of course, the thing that you always wanna try to do as a defender is knock that ball down.

When that ball's tipped and up, it's anybody's free ball.

But that's easier said than done.

Just a great effort after the catch now to break those tackles by Williams.

And so our young eighth-grade quarterback is now 12-for-14, 207 yards, 5 touchdown passes on the night.

- [Landrum] You had Coleman Granberry that deflected the ball, then he was able to catch up and still unable to bring Korbyn Williams down.

5 plays, 46 yards on the scoring drive, presented by ALDOT, 49 to 10.

- [Rick] Well, and I tell you, that's something we probably haven't talked enough about is the YACs, yards after contact, that Thompson has had tonight has been very, very impressive.

They've broken a lot of tackles.

- [Landrum] Receivers have done it, and running back AJ Green has done it.

207 yards through the air for the Thompson offense, 174 yards on the ground.

- [Rick] Pretty good balance.

I don't think anybody saw that 207 coming in the air though.

- [Landrum] 381 total yards for the Thompson Warriors.

64 for the Tigers of Auburn.

- [Rick] And that about sums it up.

Now, if you're Auburn, you gotta forget that score.

You gotta forget everything.

You just gotta play one play at a time, and try to get 10 yards in three downs and then get 10 more yards.

- [Landrum] That's what Clyde Pittman and the Tiger offense will do.

Pittman back to the air, throwing it underneath.

Nothing doing.

Ean Nation, he's finally able to connect with Nation, who had one catch for three yards, after averaging around 120 yards per game.

- [Rick] Yeah, but I mean, you know, that's gonna be, that's gonna knock that down to a lot less, 'cause that one lost three yards.

So he's got two catches for zero yards.

- [Landrum] Nowhere to go.

Clyde Pittman, clock on the move, 2nd & 14.

Able to complete the pass.

That's Jack Hudson.

Hudson diving down.

So they get the lost yardage back, maybe half a yard more.

It'll be 3rd down & 9 that the Tigers face, with 1:38 left.

- [Rick] Thompson again in that three-man front, content to rush three, and at times bring a fourth rusher with that inside linebacker.

- [Landrum] On 3rd & 9.

Comes to this near sideline, sliding down.

Hudson unable to come up with it.

And it'll be fourth down.

And the punt team heads on the field for Coach Keith Etheredge.

- [Rick] You know, really, really a tough night on this sideline here.

You know, you work so hard to get to a state championship game, and just have everything in the world go wrong.

And frankly, run into a buzz saw.

I mean, Thompson, the reason things have gone wrong is because Thompson has played just magnificent.

- [Landrum] Tyler McKinnell.

Unfortunately for Tiger fans, he's been very busy tonight.

That punt, fair catch called for and taken at the Warrior 49.

So, what it's been, it's been defense.

We told you about the 64 total yards just a moment ago for Auburn.

But how about the Thompson offense?

An abundance of playmakers.

But tonight, Korbyn Williams, number six, you see him there on the sideline.

He has shown off, and getting help from his eighth-grade quarterback, Trent Seaborn.

- [Rick] Well, absolutely.

Just beautiful throws and great routes, and of course, he's caught everything that's been near.

Great catch right there.

And I think this is a thing they probably didn't anticipate was the prolific-ness.

Is there such a word as that?

There is tonight.

- [Landrum] There is.

- [Rick] You know, of the Thompson passing game.

- [Landrum] Handoff up the middle.

Warriors keeping it on the ground.

A gain of two, able to get it just past the 50.

It's Michael Dujon.

One of the running backs.

AJ Green, the starter.

Dujon, we've seen a heavy dose of him here in this third quarter.

As the final seconds tick off the big jumbotron inside of Jordan-Hare.

Trying the right side.

Nice defensive play, good pursuit.

Went up to make that stop for the Tigers.

- [Rick] That's Klark Cleveland, had 17 tackles for loss coming into tonight.

Added to that.

- [Landrum] Rico Spinks as well.

As you take a look at number 90 on the right side of your screen.

- [Rick] Yeah, that's just a stretch play.

Yeah, good pursuit by that young man as well.

Even goes underneath the zone block.

Good hustle on the back side, brings up this 3rd and really long yardage.

But you know, that's almost the situation that the Auburn defense doesn't want to be in.

- [Landrum] Not at all.

49 to 10, 12 minutes left to play, and a lot to celebrate for that man, seeking his fourth straight state title, and his Warrior's smelling it.

We're back to Jordan-Hare in a moment.

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(easygoing music) (easygoing music continued) - [Landrum] A cold night inside of Jordan-Hare, but some happy Thompson fans that might need more clothes.

- [Rick] (chuckles) I don't think those guys do.

- [Landrum] When you're young, it doesn't matter.

When you're old, like, well I'll just speak for myself, like me, you have to wear an overcoat.

You're wearing the scarf.

- [Rick] Yeah, I don't know, but I'll give you $50 for your overcoat right now.

(both chuckle) You're darn right, I'm wearing the scarf, and I'd wear something else if I had it.

- [Landrum] No kidding.

- [Rick] But I guarantee you, on that sideline, they don't even notice the weather.

They're having a great time.

- [Landrum] New quarterback into the ballgame.

We'll tell you more about him.

Mark Freeman just wants that Blue Map.

That'll make you nice and warm, driving back to Alabaster tonight.

- [Rick] As we see Zach Sims in the game, of course, the starter for most of the year.

Was injured and you know, had some inconsistencies on offense.

May not be the quarterback's fault, but sometimes you make a change there just to get a little different perspective.

Good numbers on the year, about a 60% completion percentage.

It's good to see him get back in the game.

- [Landrum] If you missed it, young quarterback Trent Seaborn, 12-of-14 tonight.

207 yards, 5 touchdowns.

And a big reason why not only Thompson is in this position playing for their fourth straight state championship, but a big reason they lead 49 to 10.

After the McGuire punt, one of the few that we've seen tonight, the fair catch called for and taken, and it'll be the Tigers at their own 16, with 11:06 left to play.

- [Rick] You know, I gotta believe that, and of course, I think the success that Thompson had running the football early kind of set up the passing game.

But I gotta believe that as Thompson looked at the films, it felt like they had some one-on-one matchups that they could take advantage of, and they sure have tonight.

- [Landrum] Quarterback Clyde Pittman's night might be over, as Davis Harsin checks in, junior quarterback for the Tigers.

- [Rick] Pretty good numbers on the year for Harsin.

53-of-83, 70% completion percentage, 866 yards and 11 touchdowns.

- [Landrum] Of course, the name looked familiar.

- [Rick] Oh yeah, yep.

- [Landrum] The son of former Auburn coach Bryan Harsin.

- [Rick] From a football family.

And really split time pretty even the first part of the year, and then they decided to go with the older quarterback down the line.

But very solid numbers.

- Prior to the snap, encroachment, defense.

Five-yard penalty, still second down.

- [Landrum] So after the Warriors called for off-sides, it'll be 2nd down & 3 for Harsin and the Tigers.

You know, talking about it in the break, there's not a 39-point play, coach.

And if you're Auburn, I know it's tempting to try to get chunk yardage, try to, you know, eat into this Thompson lead.

But I don't know how much success you're going to have.

And just given by what we've seen here in the second half, and not faulting the coaching, but throwing it into the teeth of that Thompson secondary, it's just, it's not working.

- [Rick] No, at this point, I mean, you've gotta forget the score and just try to get positive plays and run the entirety of your offense.

Obviously, you've got to make up 39 points in a quarter.

That's not impossible, but it's pretty close.

- [Landrum] Tyler Flakes checking in.

- [Rick] Excuse me, I was just gonna say, you just wanna get something positive going.

- [Landrum] Harsin rolling out, firing.

And he had an open wide receiver in that young man, number 81, sliding down to the turf, but having to try to field it on the short hop.

That was Griffin McLean.

- [Rick] Yeah, it was a bootleg action.

And of course, you know, you gotta get downhill and get that front shoulder pointed at your target.

Harsin was not able to do that, had to kind of throw across his body.

Very hard to throw an accurate pass that way.

And hence, the ball slightly behind.

- [Landrum] 2nd down & 10.

Flakes, the Auburn running back, has checked in for DV Williams.

A couple of yards on second down, will bring up 3rd down & long, from the 31, officially 3rd down & 6.

So they gave him the extra yard and a half.

- [Rick] You know, Flakes had 540 yards on the year.

6.1 yards per carry.

So he's got good numbers as well.

- [Landrum] Harsin going back to McLean.

Catch made on the sideline, as McLean falls down.

- [Rick] It's gonna be a couple yards short.

- [Landrum] 4th down & 2, after they spot the ball.

Keith Etheredge not sending the punting unit on the field.

We'll see if Harsin and the Tigers can convert, as they work from their own 35.

And going in motion, it's Marcellus Josephson.

That's one of the few bright spots for this Auburn offense, coming up with some big grabs, and big grabs in traffic tonight.

Harsin on the keeper.

Davis Harsin, right at the stick.

We'll see where they spot the football.

No measurement needed, it's a first down.

- [Rick] Yeah, that's that kind of freeze option, where you take one step and look at the end man on the line of scrimmage.

If he widens, you keep it, if he comes at you, you pitch it.

That's the play that they laid on the ground earlier tonight.

But that time, executed pretty well by Harsin.

- [Landrum] Alabama Department of Transportation first down.

Appreciate all of our great sponsors making this broadcast possible.

And just getting started, here on day one of the Super 7 Championships in Auburn.

Last year out of beautiful Protective Stadium in Birmingham.

The year prior to that, these two teams facing off inside of Bryant-Denny.

You like the set up, coach, the rotation, now that Birmingham is back in the fray?

- [Rick] Yeah, I really do.

I think it's good to spread it around a little bit.

Of course, a great thrill for these guys to play in these awesome stadiums that we have in this state.

Of course, you know, I coached on the other side of the state, but I've always really liked this stadium here.

I think it really has a lot of the flavor of college football.

It's gotta be really special for these young men to get a chance to play here.

- [Landrum] Yeah, and getting to enjoy some of the traditions that they enjoy here in Auburn on game day, and likewise when they play in Tuscaloosa, and Birmingham, with some new-found traditions.

Of course, now UAB making that their home, second season inside of Protective Stadium.

We get the eagle flight.

Saw Aubie riding around outside the stadium on the golf cart.

- [Rick] No, and you know, and of course the thing about high school football, for the vast majority of these guys, this will be the last time they'll play.

Once their high school career's over, you know, it's over.

And so the chance to take part in something in this kind of atmosphere is really, really special.

- [Landrum] Harsin's pass on third down incomplete, the official doing his best at throwing a pick right there in the middle, (chuckles) with the pass traveling wide of the intended receiver.

It'll bring up 4th down & 5, with the ball on the 43.

6:57 left, here in this Class 7A State Championship game.

And it looks like Mark Freeman, unless we see a wild finish, and we've seen wild finishes- - [Rick] I don't know that we'll see one that- - [Landrum] The 49-10, that margin.

That would be more than a SportsCenter Top 10.

That would be one for the ages.

- [Rick] Well and you know, if this holds, that senior class at Thompson High School is gonna walk out with those guys having won a state championship every year that they have been in high school football, which is pretty special.

- [Landrum] Well, we told you about the exciting action we have here in Auburn all week.

Well, it all got started with the Auburn flag football team earlier today.

Brooke Hallman, the Auburn quarterback.

But it was the Auburn defense coming up with big plays as they took on the Oxford Yellow Jackets.

There's a good example there.

Syriah Daniels, Marquis Daniels, remember that name from Auburn basketball, playing in the NBA, now coaching.

The athleticism we saw from Coach Alison Link and that Auburn team, and big plays.

But it was big plays on the other side as well, as Oxford managing to get a score.

Xai Whitfield with that one.

Alison Link, head coach of the Tigers, and the state champions for 2022 in flag football, her squad.

Congratulations to not only Coach Link, but also Wes Brooks, the coach of Oxford, on two outstanding seasons.

That's what got things started this afternoon.

Here, the Auburn football team not faring as well, 4th & 5 and trailing 49 to 10 with 6:57 left, coach.

- [Rick] I think the day will come where we're gonna see the young ladies put on the pads and play it all the way through.

- [Landrum] Talk a little bit more about that, because some people might not know that you do a little coaching over in Europe.

- [Rick] I do, I do.

And you know, I work with the Salzburg Ducks and we have a ladies team.

And there's about five ladies teams in Austria and there's several in Germany, and I mean, they are pretty good players.

They would, you'd be surprised at how good the ladies' game can be.

And of course, they had the ladies' football league in the United States for a while, but I'm not sure football was the main ingredient of all that.

But this is the real deal.

And I could see the game here in the United States grow to that, now that flag football really is becoming very, very popular.

And as you saw, I mean, the girls can play.

- [Landrum] Yeah, a lot of athletes crossing over, whether it's from basketball, whether it's from cross country, from the softball team.

I know that Hewitt-Trussville, who won the inaugural Flag Football Championship, they had half of the softball team actually competing and various other athletes from other sports, which is great to see.

- [Rick] Well- - [Landrum] Davis Harsin handing the ball, or keeping the ball, there on the read option, able to pick up some yards.

But still, Auburn facing a 3rd & 4 from the 46.

- [Rick] Yeah, I was just gonna say, you know, it's got to be a thrill for those young ladies too to get a chance to play in this venue.

It's just a special, special time.

- [Landrum] Well, there he is, the man we talked about.

Ean Nation, Auburn's leading receiver on the season coming in this game.

He has been relatively quiet tonight, but he finds a good-looking pass from Davis Harsin.

I know we were talking about it.

There's been some incompletions, but Davis Harsin showing off the arm, what he's been able to do.

And a few plays ago, he had a nice throw on the run.

Jack Hudson as a receiver, just unable to come up with it.

- [Rick] Well that was a really well-timed pass right there.

That was that little back shoulder throw, you know, thrown right before the break.

I mean, just very well down.

- [Landrum] Flakes.

Tyler Flakes!

With a stop-and-go at the five!

A 29-yard touchdown for Tyler Flakes and the Auburn Tigers!

What did we talk about?

Run your offense.

Run your offense.

- [Rick] Well, and that'll take a little of the sting out, and of course, a thrill for that young man to score in the state championship game, and give the folks in blue a little something to cheer about and to feel a little bit better about the night.

- [Landrum] Well, a big salute to Davis Harsin and the Auburn offense, able to put together that drive.

It was 29 yards, Tyler Flakes, going to the right side and then a nice move and he stopped on a dime at the five, able to find his way into the end zone.

As we await the extra point attempt.

5:59 left here in this fourth quarter.

Glad you're with us here on our coverage, Alabama Public Television's coverage of the Super 7 Championships out of Jordan-Hare.

And after an expedited review, it is confirmed.

Flakes was able to cross the goal line and now a flag coming in.

- [Rick] I don't know if we've got an off-sides or what?

- Prior to the snap, encroachment, defense.

- [Rick] I think that was an alignment call right there.

Yeah, I'm sure the touchdown was reviewed.

- Auburn will decline the penalty.

- [Rick] I think technically, all scoring plays are reviewed.

- [Landrum] Will Best on to attempt the extra point.

And after declining the penalty, Best will line up and try it again.

Kick is up.

Dead center, 49-17.

Tyler Flakes, making his mark in this 7A State Championship with a 29-yard run.

But it's still all Warriors.

We're back to Auburn in a moment.

- Hi, I'm Lionel Richie.

And I have traveled all over the world, but I consider Tuskegee, Alabama, as my home, sweet, home.

I have such a pride in this state, and I know that there's something I need to tell you that's of great importance: Vote.

Register to vote, and get your voter ID today.

It really is easy.

Easy like Sunday morning.

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(gentle piano music) (orchestral music crescendos) - [Announcer] It wouldn't be the holidays without working your hands a bit.

That's how you create something worth remembering.

Like those snowflake ornaments the kids done in grade school, or those hand-breaded chicken sandwiches from Jack's.

Got the all-new, sweet hot honey with a kicked-up glaze, the always-fresh fan-favorite cheesy bacon, and everyone loves the crispy southern-fried classic.

But would you look at that?

Now that's a handmade masterpiece.

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All about the South.

- [Landrum] Welcome back to Auburn.

The similarities between tonight's two head coaches, Keith Etheredge and Mark Freeman, of Auburn and Thompson respectively.

Well, it's not just winning championships.

For more on that, Christina Chambers.

- [Christina] Well, Landrum, that's right.

Coach Etheridge and Coach Freeman have been friends for more than 15 years.

I talked to both coaches just about how close their friendship has been and they said when the game starts, the gloves come off.

But in the end, win, lose, or draw, they know that they still respect each other and have a long life friendship.

They used to schedule spring games and play spring games against each other.

He said they've been friends for a long time.

They both respect each other.

He goes, but when it comes to winning a championship, they're both gonna put their best foot forward.

But when the clock hits zero, they will definitely hug and celebrate one another if the other one wins.

So a long life friendship for these two.

- [Landrum] Really cool.

Thanks so much, Christina.

All you're fine work.

You know, we're complaining up here.

Christina's actually having to battle the cold and the wind.

We're blocked a little bit from the wind.

But she's absolutely right.

The successes of those coaches, state titles at multiple stops.

And the friendship will continue.

- [Rick] As will this rivalry.

These two will meet again.

- [Landrum] The onside kick, Will Best, we just saw the extra point.

And that ball failing to travel the necessary 10 yards, so that's where Thompson will take over.

- [Rick] But nothing wrong with that.

You know, you're still competing.

You want to try to get that ball back, get another one.

- [Stadium Announcer] Coca-Cola is the proud sponsor of the Alabama High School Athletic Association.

- [Landrum] Mark Freeman still coaching 'em up.

- [Stadium Announcer] Stay refreshed throughout the game with an ice-cold Coca-Cola.

- [Rick] I'm not sure whether there's- - [Landrum] Well, coach, what do you do when you're leading 49-17, and you're about to take home your fourth straight Blue Map?

What are telling the guys?

- [Rick] I think what he's telling them right there is make sure he's got 11 in the game, 'cause I think he's got some younger guys in playing right now.

- [Landrum] Certainly does.

And the handoff going to one of those younger players, and checking in, it's Omari Thomas, one of the Warrior running backs.

- [Rick] He's got some young guys in now.

You know, quarterback is Cooper Dorough, the sophomore, who has had very limited action this year.

- [Landrum] Well, the clock rolling, 5:23 left in this fourth quarter.

If you're just joining us, 21-0, Thompson racing out to the first quarter lead.

Then Auburn able to gain some momentum, scoring 10 unanswered.

It was a late second-quarter touchdown by the Warriors.

And then here in the second half, boy, it has pretty much been all Thompson, the touchdown just moments ago with a nice impressive drive led by Auburn quarterback Davis Harsin.

But 49-17 tells the story.

And the quarterback on the other side, the eighth-grader, Trent Seaborn, he's really been one of the stories tonight.

- [Rick] You know, really he, except for the relentless Thompson defense, he may be the story.

But that's the thing that I don't think we saw coming was this 200 yards passing, 5 touchdown passes.

And I tell you, you gotta give Thompson a lot of credit.

They've got 49 points, 21 in the first quarter, 21 in the third quarter.

I mean, they started out both halves like gangbusters, and that really is the story of the game.

I mean, they just seized control of the game immediately and never let go.

- [Landrum] A little bit of maybe a miscommunication as the quarterback and running back collide in the backfield.

The quarterback just pointing north.

Hey just, try to turn this into some kind of positive gain.

- [Rick] I don't think these guys have had a lot of reps in game action.

Those are the young guys out there.

A little trouble getting the punt team out there as well.

- [Landrum] So a punt for Thompson with a Warrior late coming onto the field.

The punt, you see the Electric Co-ops of the State of Alabama.

Good-looking punt.

It's gonna roll into the end zone.

And as you can see, we are all bundled up, no firewood.

No really supply of heat as the window is open here in the press box of Jordan-Hare.

Coach, are you okay?

- I don't want anybody to think I'm soft.

I'm only wearing this 'cause Landrum made me wear it.

- That's right.

- I didn't really need it.

- Well, I'm a stickler for fashion, and I think the scarf is a nice accessory.

- Yes, well, thank you.

I'm big on accessories right here.

Do you think this plastic on this chair will burn?

- I don't know, if we can find a lighter.

- Yeah, we'll try.

Now that cardboard box will, for sure.

So we can.

(laughs) - [Landrum] Yeah, they're telling us in the truck it's 44.

Yeah, I mean I'm gonna say no, that's incorrect.

It is not, it is not 44.

- [Rick] Well, it may be 41 in the truck, but it's not 41 here.

- [Landrum] No, it is definitely into the 30s.

My feels-like temperature is around 32.

I could still feel my feet, but I'm having to constantly wiggle my toes.

- [Rick] (chuckles) I just wanna know what time face-off is.

I mean.

(laughs) - [Landrum] When does the Zamboni come out?

- [Rick] That's it.

- [Landrum] 3:29 left in this one.

As Harsin will try to replicate what he did on the Tigers' last possession, move them to a touchdown, and that was capped off with a 29-yard run by Tyler Flakes.

A late flag.

- [Rick] That's gonna be a late hit.

- [Landrum] That's Josephson.

- [Rick] Yep, that blow was struck on the tarp.

That was past the white coaches' box.

That was on the tarp when that contact was made.

And that's gonna add 15.

- [Landrum] In defense of the Thompson players, we await the call.

- After the play, personal foul.

Late hit out of bounds against the defense.

15 yard penalty from the end of the run.

First down.

- [Landrum] You got a lot of the youngins out there, and then forgetting about sideline, and where they are on the field.

- [Rick] Oh, they wanna get in on the action, yeah.

- [Landrum] All you're seeing is ball carrier, and not really having the awareness where you are.

(laughs) - [Rick] I mean, you know, you see the ball carrier, you hit him, that's.

- [Landrum] Luckily, Josephson's okay.

Harsin back to the air, finding a man on this near side.

And that's Cody Palmer.

One of the first times we've called his name tonight.

- [Rick] Well you know, this has just been just a magnificent performance by the Thompson Warriors in just about every phase of the game, really.

And tough night on that sideline, but they'll be back.

- [Landrum] Much to the chagrin of the other teams in Class 7A.

2nd down & 5 after the five-yard completion to Palmer.

Tyler Flakes showing the feet, showing the wheels.

Had the 29-yard touchdown, and he had about 20 more there.

- [Rick] Yeah, a man behind Bradyn Joiner right there.

And just a tremendous drive block, knocked the defender about six yards down the field.

Lots of room for Flakes right there.

- [Landrum] Set up a first down, 2:30 to go.

Tyler Flakes making the most of his playing time, coming here in the second half.

6 carries, 67 yards.

Will get the quick hitter from his quarterback, Davis Harsin.

Flakes able to take it up close to five yards on that play.

It'll bring up second down, the ball on the 22.

- [Rick] Just a little swing around, and read the flat defender and threw opposite him.

- [Landrum] Of course, immediately following this, we'll have the trophy presentation, and another Blue Map going back to Alabaster, Alabama.

Jack Hudson on the reception!

And Hudson, after the catch, racing inside, finally tackled at the four!

Tigers are set up, first down & goal in the Alabama Votes red zone.

- [Rick] There's that little hit screen to the outside.

Very well-blocked, ball right on the money.

- [Landrum] To the spot of the football.

Clock rolling, 1:35, you see there on your screen.

Tyler Flakes off the left side.

Flakes!

(whistle blows) They say he's in!

It's another touchdown!

Consecutive possessions.

A flag does come in, the back corner of the end zone.

So we'll await the call.

But as it stands right now, Tyler Flakes with his second touchdown tonight.

We'll see if it holds up.

- [Rick] I'm not sure if this isn't maybe a little extracurricular after the score.

That was the outside zone play.

Nice job by Flakes of cutting it inside.

- After the play, personal foul.

Against the offense.

Touchdown's good.

- [Landrum] So, you're right, coach.

Little extra after the play.

But still, for Auburn, after trailing 49 to 10, able to put down, put across two consecutive touchdown drives.

And Will Best will try to add the extra point coming up with a minute and a half left.

And you saw the Thompson sideline, and those seniors, looks like Peter Woods, the outstanding defensive linemen that's gonna play at Clemson, holding up the four fingers.

They will review the touchdown, make sure that Tyler Flakes got in.

- [Ref] The previous play is under review.

- [Rick] What does the four fingers mean?

Does that mean with cheese?

Or they don't know.

- [Landrum] That is, "I've got rings for all of these fingers," coach.

- [Rick] Right, well, that's exactly what they got, yep.

- [Landrum] Or, "I will have a ring for this fourth finger."

How do you decide which ring goes on which finger?

(Rick laughs) Do you start from pinky and work your way to index?

You go index and work your way out to pinky?

- [Rick] Well, I'll answer that after the replay.

That's the stretch play.

He turns upfield and of course, the thing is, does the ball cross the line?

Looks like it does, from that angle.

- [Landrum] Well, it does.

It's just, was the knee down?

I thought at first glance, in actual time, the knee did touch before the ball crossed the goal line.

Hard to tell, though, from that vantage point.

And I'll be honest, this is not necessarily a reflection on high school replay.

Not at all.

But I'll tell you, in the college game, when they go to replay, I'll just close my eyes, no matter what I see on the screen, and flip a coin.

- [Rick] Well, of course, the slow-motion frame-by-frame has distorted all that.

- [Landrum] A look at Peter Woods.

So again, back to the rings, how are you positioning them on the hand?

- [Rick] Well, you know, I guess if you know you're gonna get four in a row, that you can measure them by size, but the ones I got were pretty well-spaced.

So, they're all the same size.

- [Landrum] You're gonna start with the ring finger for the first.

- [Rick] Absolutely.

But you know, most of those things end up in a trophy box, or that, you know.

You don't wear 'em very much, especially the size they are now.

- After review, the runner was down at the half-yard line.

The penalty will be enforced from the end of the run.

15 yards, second down.

- [Landrum] So the 15-yard penalty- - [Rick] Now becomes a factor.

- [Landrum] It does.

Instead of having it 2nd down & goal from the 1, now the unsportsmanlike, the extracurricular after the play that went against the Auburn Tigers will back it up to just past the 15.

- [Rick] And still 2nd & goal.

(crowd chatters) - [Stadium Announcer] 2nd & goal from the 15.

- [Landrum] So on 2nd & goal from the 15, Davis Harsin, Tyler Flakes, thought he had his second touchdown, but after a review, excuse me, (marching band music) the penalty assessed.

Mark Freeman getting an explanation from the head official.

Now we're ready to play.

After everybody's set here is Harsin going to the air.

Ean Nation couldn't hold on to the football.

Went up, had the one-on-one coverage, a little bit of a back shoulder throw.

- [Rick] Yeah, pretty good job by the corner on that side of getting his hands in-between the receiver's hands and knocking that ball away.

That's Vini Pires that was able to do that.

A look at him right there.

- [Landrum] Clock stops on the incompletion.

3rd down & goal, from the 15.

Harsin.

Well, it's a lot easier when you don't have a man out there.

Ean Nation, touchdown!

Brought to you by the Department of Human Resources.

- [Rick] It was a nice job by Harsin of sitting in there.

He had pressure right in his face and threw a nice ball.

Coverage fell down, but that ball was right on the money.

There, you see the pressure right there.

And you can see this ball was gonna be right over the top, never broke stride.

Obviously, a coverage breakdown in the secondary for Thompson, and Auburn does get their 23rd point.

- [Landrum] And another extra point by Will Best makes it 49 to 24, 1:11 left.

So at least for the Auburn Tiger faithful.

A look at Davis Harsin, the Auburn quarterback at the sideline.

Bittersweet, you have the Flag Football Championship won by the Auburn girls earlier today, and you've been able to close the wide gap that was in the scoring column here late against this Thompson football team.

- [Rick] Well, you know, it's really tough to get this far and just have really a disappointing game.

They've certainly made it much better here in the closing moments of the game.

But this was just a tremendous performance by the Thompson Warriors.

I know I said that earlier, but you know, you can't say it enough.

Defensively, when it counted, they just completely stifled the Auburn offense.

Ran the ball with great authority.

as we look at the scoring drive right here.

80 yards in 9 plays, and with a 16-yard TD reception.

And of course, the thing that's so surprising, you know, at least to me, and I think probably you would agree, was just the tremendous passing performance by a very young quarterback on the biggest of stages.

- [Landrum] Towns McGough tries the on-side.

This one does go 10 yards, but it's fielded by the hands team of the Warriors.

And for Mark Freeman and his Thompson team, it's all elementary from here.

- [Rick] You see they're counting heads over there.

They're gonna go with young guys again.

- [Landrum] Well, if I'm anything, if I'm Mark Freeman right now, I am turned around.

I am looking for a Gatorade bucket, and I am threatening.

- [Rick] If I had won three state championships in a row and going for a fourth, I would make sure that all of my clothing was waterproof.

- [Landrum] Get your coaches, get your assistant coaches.

These are the guys that make it happen.

That's when you start really deflecting and putting praise on all of those assistants.

- [Rick] Oh, yeah.

- [Landrum] You don't need it.

- [Rick] No, but you're gonna get the bath, anyway.

Of course, he's been the catalyst in all this.

But you're exactly right.

I mean, it takes a complete staff at this level to be successful.

Obviously this is a very, very well-coached football team that has been able to, down the stretch, do all the right stuff.

(whistle blows) - [Landrum] And that'll do it.

(crowd cheers) Four straight 7A State Championships for Mark Freeman and the Thompson Warriors.

Freeman looking dry, congratulated by his team, as he'll walk out to greet his counterpart tonight.

But his friend, as Christina told us the story between he and Auburn coach Keith Etheredge.

But it's all Warriors tonight, 49 to 24.

(marching band music) - [Rick] A very, very dominating, just an impressive performance again by the Thompson Warriors.

- [Landrum] No doubt about that.

Total yards, 378.

(fireworks crackle) But 219, and most of those coming in the second half, for this Auburn Tiger football team.

They were able to muster together a couple of touchdown drives, led by backup quarterback Davis Harsin.

Well, it doesn't stop here tonight.

Coming up tomorrow at 11 a.m., coach, we have Piedmont and St. James.

And then at 3:00, Pickens County and Leroy.

Tomorrow night, the 5A, seven o'clock right here inside of Jordan-Hare Stadium, Ramsay and Charles Henderson.

Then on Friday, we crank it up again.

Cherokee and Andalusia, Fyffe and BB Comer with the 2A Championship, and Mountain Brook and Saraland and the 6A at 7:00.

Christina Chambers standing by with the victorious Mark Freeman.

- Coach, a dominant win.

What can you say about the way your team played here today to win your fourth straight state championship?

- I'm just so proud of 'em.

I give God all the glory for it.

The year we've been through was a great, great learning for those kids for the rest of their life.

And I just thank God for the night.

Our kids played really good.

Just in a big game, and they all played good.

I'm so proud for them.

I'm so proud for our coaches, our community really.

- Making history here tonight.

Fourth, first team in 7A to win four straight.

Can you just put into words what it means to you, your team and this community?

- Well, I mean, I guess it means something to be the fourth, but this one here is really special.

And it's the one that we're on the journey of this year, and man, it's been a great year and this is special.

But thank God for what He's doing for our program right now.

- All right, Coach.

Thank you.

(fireworks booming) - [Landrum] Fireworks going off outside of Jordan-Hare, a victorious Mark Freeman.

But it's not over.

Our trophy presentation, presented by Google, comes your way next, here on the AHSAA network.

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- [Announcer 2] This message presented by the AHSAA.

- [Landrum] Welcome back inside of Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Thompson a winner tonight, 49 to 24 over Auburn, in the 7A State Championship.

And now it is time for our trophy presentation, presented by Google.

(crowd cheers) - [Stadium Announcer] And now to present the 2022 State Runner-Up Trophy for Class 7A, Central Board Member, Dr. Farrell Seymore, Superintendent of Opelika City Schools, and Kim Vickers, Associate Executive Director of the AHSAA.

The 7A State Championship Runner-Up, led by Head Coach Keith Etheredge, the Auburn High School Tigers!

(crowd cheers) And now to present the 2022 State Championship Trophy to Class 7A is Alvin Briggs, Executive Director of AHSAA, and Central Board Member Chuck Marcum, from the State Department of Education, to Mark Freeman, Head Coach of the Thompson High School Warriors!

(crowd cheers) (crowd cheers) Congratulations to the 7A State Champions!

- [Landrum] Well, Thompson, another Blue Map.

Four in a row, a state record.

Four in a row for Mark Freeman and the Warriors.

Coach, when you put a bow on this, what was the big difference tonight?

- [Rick] Well, you know, I think that you start with the stifling defense that we talked about in the opening.

I mean their defense gave Auburn no breathing room early.

The running game early set the tempo for them offensively.

A couple of really key play action passes early that got 'em big scores.

And then after that, really when they needed a big play, they were able to throw it.

And a young quarterback had quite a coming out party.

12-for-14, 207 yards, 5 touchdown passes, the MVP of the State Championship game.

And the first thing he did, it looked to us, is he gave it to his receiver Korbyn Williams, who had seven touchdown catches on the night, or excuse me, four.

Four touchdown catches on the night.

So quite a night for the Thompson Warriors.

- [Landrum] Yeah, Trent Seaborn, not only does he take AP classes, he's an eighth-grade state championship quarterback, he plays the saxophone because it helps him relax.

But he's also a great teammate.

Is there anything else?

Does he- - [Rick] You know.

(laughs) - [Landrum] Does he have a cure for something?

Who knows?

It's early.

- [Rick] Not yet, but he probably will.

- [Landrum] (chuckles) Well, congratulations to both of these teams.

Thompson, four in a row for Coach Mark Freeman.

Also a big congratulations to the Auburn Tigers and Coach Keith Etheredge.

Just too much Warriors here tonight.

Your 7A State Champions.

But we're just getting started here in Auburn, Alabama.

Coming up tomorrow all begins the pre-game, 10:30.

And then 11 o'clock, the kickoff between Piedmont and St. James in the 3A, followed by the 1A and the 5A.

It's been a whole lot of fun, coach.

- [Rick] Enjoyed it immensely.

Quite a performance by the guys in white.

Four in a row, congratulations to 'em.

I really enjoyed being with you tonight.

- [Landrum] For the coach, Rick Rhoades, and helping us on the sideline, Christina Chambers, I'm Landrum Roberts.

Good night from Auburn, Alabama!

(celebratory music) - [Announcer] The internet.

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