2020 Football Schedule Preview
The defending state champs in Class 7A will return to the field in 2020 with a championship schedule in store as the slate features playoff teams, new and old rivals, the gauntlet that is 7A’s Region 3 and a fellow defending champion. All seven of Alabama’s classes have been reclassified and the reclassification will be in effect for the 2020-2022 seasons and the AHSAA will release similar re-alignment for winter and spring sports next year.
Oxford 8-22-2020 at Warrior Stadium Thompson will open up the 2020 season against the defending champions from 6A who won the school’s first title since 1993 and tied Oxford’s record for wins in a season with a 14-1 finish. There is some familiarity here as Oxford and Thompson have partnered each of the last three seasons for organized team activities in the summers before the regular season. The Yellow Jackets have also won three of their last four region titles. Thompson will also work to host the second annual Go Gold Bowl to go along with exciting matchup of defending champions.
Sparkman 8-28-2020 at Sparkman The Warriors will travel to face the Senators for the first time in Week 2. Sparkman has made the playoffs two of the last three seasons losing to Hoover in both matchups and finished last season with an 8-3 record. Laron White will be heading into his fourth season as Sparkman’s head coach.
Tuscaloosa County 9-4-2020 at Warrior Stadium Region play will begin at home as Thompson welcomes the Wildcats in Week 3. The Warriors beat Tuscaloosa County 63-18 in 2019 and has won the matchup each of the last five seasons. The Wildcats finished the 2019 season 2-8, but won their final two games, including a 42-21 upset of Spain Park in Jay Todd’s first year at the helm.
Spain Park 9-11-2020 at Spain Park Thompson heads to Spain Park in Week 4. The Jaguars enter their eighth season of the Shawn Raney era which includes 4 playoff trips and an appearance in the 2015 state championship. SP has gone 4-6 the last two seasons and Thompson has taken the win over the Jags in each of the last three seasons including a 47-23 win in 2019.
Hewitt-Trussville 9-18-2020 at Hewitt-Trussville The Warriors will return to the site of their only loss of 2019 in Week 5 where the implications for region rankings will certainly be high. The Huskies went 6-4 and didn’t make the playoffs for the first time since 2012--two years before Josh Floyd came on as head coach. HT was riddled with injuries last year and figure to be a major player in Area 3 once again. Thompson beat the Huskies twice in the 2018 season. Mountain Brook 9-25-2020 at Warrior Stadium Thompson returns home in Week 6 to face a familiar foe in the Spartans. Mountain Brook will drop down to Class 6A for the 2020-2022 seasons, but will remain on the Warriors’ schedule keeping this great rivalry intact. Thompson has won each of the last four games against the Spartans including a gritty 33-21 victory in 2019. Chris Yeager will be coaching MB for his 15th season and has only missed the playoffs four times during that span.
Vestavia Hills 10-2-2020 at Warrior Stadium The Rebels will again travel to Thompson for a region game in Week 7 as Buddy Anderson’s storied career enters his 43rd season as the top guy in Vestavia. Anderson has won two state championships and returns a squad that finished 7-4 in 2019 with a narrow loss to James Clemens in the first round of the playoffs. The Warriors have taken four in a row from the Rebels including 2019’s 35-21 win.
Gadsden City 10-9-2020 at Gadsden City The Warriors will face their newest rival from Region 3 on the road in Week 8 as they take on the Titans who reclassify to Class 7A for the 2020-2022 seasons. Gadsden City went 1-9 in Ali Smith’s first year as head coach, but kept games close down the stretch to playoff teams like Florence and Clay-Chalkville.
Oak Mountain 10-16-2020 at Oak Mountain The Eagles finished the 2019 season 4-6 in Chris Bell’s eighth year as head coach and will host the Warriors in Week 9. Thompson has won three in a row against Oak Mountain, including a 51-14 win on the road last year.
Hoover 10-23-2020 at Warrior Stadium The Warriors host Hoover again for the final regular season and region game in 2020. Thompson beat Hoover for a third straight time for the first time in school history in last year’s state semifinals, 35-21. Josh Nibblett enters his 13th season as Hoover’s head coach which features six region titles and six state championships. The Warriors and the Bucs have met each of the last three seasons in the state semifinals.
