Thompson High is a public school was established in 1921 in the Alabaster City School District. Thompson High’s mascot is the Warriors and their school colors are red, white, and black. The school has about 2000 students and participates in the 7A level of sports in the AHSAA (Alabama High School Athletic Association). Some notable alumni are Jim Davenport (former MLB Player for SF Giants), Brandon King (2x SB Champion with NE Patriots), and Taulia Tagovailoa (College QB for Maryland and younger brother of Tua, Dolphins QB). Thompson High has won 5 State Championships in football, including 4 in a row (1982 3A, 2019 – 2022 7A). Head Coach Mark Freeman has been the at Thompson for the last 5 years, participating in the State Championship Game for all of those years.
I was able to chat with Coach Freeman about recent success and future plans for the program. Firstly, to highlight the recent success of Coach Freeman, before coming to Thompson High he had won a State Championship at 2 of the 3 schools he coached at. 2022 marks his 10th overall State Championship. Before accepting the job at Thompson, Coach Freeman knew that the turnaround would be very difficult considering the program was not a competitive contender. The school had many head coaches in a short span of time. During the last season, Thompson went 11-3. Losing the first two games of the season to two out-of-state opponents, Coach Freeman proclaimed that starting the season off with some strong opponents would make his team stronger. Coach Freeman was right. Thompson went on a 7-game winning streak, losing the final game before the playoffs began. Despite the performance of his game. Coach Freeman believed that his team was peaking at the right moment. Thompson won the next 3 games, holding opponents to 22 points total in those 3 contests. Thompson played Auburn High in the State Championship game, again, and won convincingly, 49-24.
Looking towards the future, Coach Freeman likes to keep up the success of the Youth Football League which teaches kids the from a young age how to perform better as they grow older. By teaching the kids a basic offense and defense at a young age, by the time they get to High School it will be easier to perform. Coach Freeman credits the Youth Football Leagues greatly for his current success. Lastly, Coach freeman would like to bring a spotlight to the players who make his dream a possibility, including some of the guys who are being overlooked by colleges in recruiting processes.
Here are are some of the players discussed during this conversation:
#1 AJ Green is a class of 2024 Running Back who is 5’9″ 190 lbs.
#8 Kaleb Harris is a class of 2024 Free Safety who is 6’1″ 190 lbs.
#2 Deuce Oliver is a class of 2024 Wide Receiver who is 5’10” 155 lbs. Deuce is pretty speedy and runs a 4.48 40-yard-dash. He is a very impressive physical athlete with a 34-inch vertical, a 200 lb bench press, and a 325 lb squat. Deuce also tests his track speed with a 11.1 second 100 meter dash.
#7 Kolby Hearn is a class of 2024 Wide Receiver who is 5’10” 167 lbs.
#1 Anquon Fegans is a class of 2025 Free Safety who is 6’2″ 181 lbs. Anquon currently has offers from Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, Colorado, and Florida. He is a Top 10 player for the entire class of 2025 recruiting class.
#12 Trent Seaborn is a class of 2027 Quarterback who is 6’0″ 178 lbs. He led the Warriors to their State Championship last year as an eighth grader.
#8 Zach Sims is a class of 2024 Quarterback who is 6’3″ 185 lbs.
#7 Jayden Davis is a class of 2024 Linebacker who is 6’1″ 205 lbs. Jayden is a very strong young man, with a max bench press of 310 lbs and a max squat of 525 lbs.