ALABASTER, Ala. — History arrived on the second play of the third quarter Friday night at Warrior Stadium, and then Thompson High School’s backups finished the job. The top-ranked Warriors rolled to a 49-0 Class 6A Region 3 victory over No. 3 Vestavia Hills, improving to 3-0, 1-0 in region play while handing the Rebels their first loss of the season.
Alabama commit Trent Seaborn entered the game needing 257 passing yards to break Piedmont’s Jack Hayes’ AHSAA career record of 11,024 yards. He needed far less time than that. Seaborn completed 16 of 19 passes for 244 yards and three touchdowns in the first half as Thompson built a 28-0 lead. On the second snap after intermission, he eclipsed the mark, finished 18 of 21 for 264 yards and three scores, and was pulled immediately. The four-star senior now sits alone atop the state’s all-time passing list.
“It was honestly surreal,” Seaborn said in postgame comments featured in AL6AFootball’s on-field interview with receivers Dedrick Kimbrough, Mason McClure and Darion Moseley. “It was so awesome. To me, that record is not an individual stat. It is more of a team stat to me. Because of my teammates and everybody around me, we all worked towards that accomplishment. Without God, none of this would be possible, and I just can’t thank him enough for it.” He added that the close-knit Thompson community and fan base made the moment even better. “Never in my life could I have thought this up. This was God’s glory.”
The scoring sequence showed a methodical first half followed by complementary football after Seaborn’s exit. Thompson struck first at 7:16 of the opening quarter. Seaborn found running back CJ Cowley on a 14-yard touchdown pass, capping a seven-play, 40-yard drive for a 7-0 lead. Cowley added a 1-yard plunge at 9:44 of the second quarter to make it 14-0. Then the big plays arrived. Seaborn, rolling out, hit Arkansas commit Darion Moseley in stride for a 71-yard touchdown at 8:06 of the second. Three minutes later, at 5:27, Seaborn connected with four-star Dedrick Kimbrough on a 28-yard scoring strike. Thompson took a 28-0 lead into the locker room. Vestavia Hills quarterback Charlie Taaffe was injured during the Benjamin Russell game and did not play.
The record-breaking completion came early in the third. Thompson then turned to the ground game. Latrell Sanders scored on a 2-yard run at 9:09 of the third for a 35-0 lead. Nic McKissic punched in a 1-yard touchdown at 10:50 of the fourth, and Josiah Finley added another 1-yard score at 7:12 of the fourth to complete the 49-0 shutout. Seven different players found the end zone. The Warriors’ defense consistently prevented Vestavia Hills from crossing midfield.
The result extended Thompson’s recent dominance in the series. The Warriors have now beaten Vestavia Hills in consecutive meetings by a combined 84-3 and hold a 19-14 all-time edge. Both programs entered 2-0 after quality wins; Thompson had already handled Central-Phenix City and Clay-Chalkville. Vestavia Hills, missing its starting quarterback, simply could not match the Warriors’ speed and depth on either side of the ball.
Seaborn’s night was efficient rather than volume-heavy because coach Mark Freeman pulled him once the record was secure. The senior has been starting since eighth grade, has won three state titles, and now holds the career passing yards mark, with most of his senior season still ahead.
The Warriors remain the program to beat in the newly configured 6A Region 3 that also includes Hoover, Hewitt-Trussville, Prattville, Spain Park, Oak Mountain and Tuscaloosa County. For Vestavia Hills, the night was a reminder of the gap that still exists against the state’s flagship program. The Rebels will look to regroup at home against Oak Mountain next week. Thompson travels to Spain Park.
Both teams remain firmly in the state title conversation, but Friday belonged to the Warriors and their record-setting quarterback. The final scoreboard read Thompson 49, Vestavia Hills 0. The larger story was a teenager from Hawaii, by way of Alabaster, rewriting the Alabama high school record book in front of a packed Warrior Stadium crowd, then handing the ball to teammates who finished off a complete performance. Seaborn’s words after the game captured the program’s culture as much as his own accomplishment: the yards belong to everyone who blocked, caught, coached and believed. Thompson is 3-0 and still hunting a third straight championship. The rest of 6A has been put on notice once again.
