Thompson Blows Past Chelsea for 45-0 Homecoming Shutout Win
Homecoming week came and went in a flash and Thompson‘s game against the Chelsea Hornets was no different. The Warriors sped out to a 35 point lead after the first quarter and never looked back in route to a 45–0 region win to continue an undefeated 2023 season.
The team's second great start in a row was punctuated by two touchdowns in the first two plays.
After Deuce Oliver made a nice, shifty punt return to Chelsea‘s 30 yard line, Trent Seaborn delivered a pass deep down the middle to Pryce Louis for the receiver’s first career touchdown.
Great defense and special teams got the ball back to the Warriors in short order— this time with just four yards to go to paydirt. After a stop on Chelsea’s next possession, a blocked punt attempt gave Thompson’s offense an extremely short field. Senior AJ Green walked into the end zone shortly after for a 14–0 lead.
A third straight three-and-out forced by the defense and another long punt return from Oliver put Thompson back in business in Chelsea territory. It would take the Warriors two plays to score this time, but Michael Dujon made it worth the wait. The junior running back charged up a hole in the middle of the line, then changed direction gliding past several would-be tacklers and angling towards the left sideline finishing a 31-yard touchdown run in the far corner of the end zone for a 21-0 lead just six minutes into the ballgame.
With the Hornets pushed back inside their own 20 yard line, the Thompson defense wouldn’t accept a simple stop on third down this go round. Pressuring the Chelsea quarterback forcing a throw off his back foot, senior safety Kaleb Harris leapt in front of the pass and returned it 25 yards for his fourth interception of the season and his second pick six in as many games. And Thompson’s defense wasn’t finished wreaking havoc for the night.
Both sides of the ball were the picture of efficiency as the defense allowed only 41 yards in 29 first half plays from Chelsea while the offense needed just 15 plays to roll up 179 yards and four touchdowns.
Thompson wasn’t done with their one play wonders either. It would be AJ Green who put a bow on the Warriors’ best quarter of the year, breaking two tackles then dashing 54 yards for his second TD and a 35-0 lead with 1:51 to go.
The offense’s first stumbling block of the game only served to let kicker John Maguire show off his range. The senior knocked a season-high 47-yard field goal through the uprights for a 38-point lead.
After a nearly scoreless second quarter, the Warrior defense seized another opportunity before the half. This time it was Peyton Lewis who snagged his first interception of the year and promptly returned it to the house 26 yards for the TD and the game’s final score.
Thompson (4-0, 3-0) will continue their two-game homestand and welcome Class 6A #2 ranked Clay-Chalkville this coming Thursday, Sept 28 with kickoff slated for 7 p.m. Television coverage will be provided by ESPN2 but Thompson will still have the radio call available here at warriornationnetwork.org.
