FINAL: No. 16 Thompson overcomes slow start to beat Carver Montgomery in Alabama opener, 37-6

Kendall Webb

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FINAL: No. 16 Thompson overcomes slow start to beat Carver Montgomery in Alabama opener, 37-6 image

The No. 16 Thompson [Alabaster, AL] Warriors are set to host the Carver Montgomery [AL] Wolverines to open the Alabama prep season Thursday night.

ALABASTER, Alabama, Aug. 21 — For one half, the Carver Montgomery [AL] Wolverines proved to be the equals of the mighty Thompson [AL] machine, deadlocking the Warriors in a 6-6 halftime tie.

But football is a game of two halves, and in the second half, they proved to be no match for Alabama's defending AHSAA Class 7A champions. Carver's defense was carved up for 31 points, resulting in a 37-6 loss in a game delayed for more than a half hour due to inclement weather.

Thompson got rolling quickly in the second half. They took only 1:05 off the clock with the first possession of the third quarter when Trent Seaborn went airborne to Trey Knight in the end zone to make it 13-6. That would turn out to be the winning points, but in the meantime, Seaborn and company kept padding their lead just to be sure.

Another quick score made it 20-6, and then a short run by KJ Jackson stretched the Warriors' lead to 27-6. Finally, Seaborn added a 13-yard scramble of his own for good measure early in the fourth quarter before taking the rest of the night off with Thompson up, 34-6. A late field goal provided the final margin.

Thompson will venture out of state next weekend, crossing the Georgia line to take on the national No. 8 Grayson [Loganville, GA] Rams. The Warriors will be trying to avenge a one-point overtime loss at home to the Rams last year in a 15-14 decision. It's also one of the Warriors' few opportunities to embellish their resume and try to make a run at the Top 10 or better.

Carver Montgomery, meanwhile, will try to get off the mat against the Class 6A Percy Julian [Montgomery, AL] Phoenix who open the season Friday night, August 22, against the Paul W. Bryant [Cottondale, AL] Stampede.

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|| FOURTH QUARTER ||

And this one is in the books. Thompson overcomes a 6-6 tie at the half to bury Carver Montgomery beneath a 31-point avalanche in the second half.

FINAL — THOMPSON 37, CARVER MONTGOMERY 6

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Seaborn has earned the rest of the night off. But his backup leads the Warriors into position for a field goal, and Thompson converts.

4th Qtr — THOMPSON 37, CARVER MONTGOMERY 6

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Trent Seaborn scores on a 13-yard scramble, and that should put this thing safely out of reach.

4th Qtr — THOMPSON 34, CARVER MONTGOMERY 6

|| THIRD QUARTER ||

And the third quarter comes to a close. Thompson poured it on Carver, scoring 21 points in a span of just over nine minutes.

End of 3rd Qtr — THOMPSON 27, CARVER MONTGOMERY 6

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This is starting look more like we thought it would before the game. KJ Jackson just added a third Thompson touchdown in about nine minutes of third-quarter action.

3rd Qtr — THOMPSON 27, CARVER MONTGOMERY 6

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Thompson converts the turnover into another touchdown on a 10-yard run, and suddenly, this is a two-touchdown game.

3rd Qtr — THOMPSON 20, CARVER MONTGOMERY 6

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Following the quick touchdown, Thompson forces a turnover at Carver's 37. The titans of Alabama's Class 7A ranks appear to be waking up.

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Following a big play down to Carver's 16, Trent Seaborn connects with Trey Knight for his second touchdown pass of the game. Thompson looked sharp on that drive coming out of the half.

3rd Qtr, 10:55 — THOMPSON 13, CARVER MONTGOMERY 6

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And we're under way in the third quarter. Thompson has the ball first, and they get a good return to start the half near their own 45.

|| HALFTIME ||

The teams are starting to make their way onto the field for the start of the third quarter in this game between Class 7A rivals in Alabama.

|| SECOND QUARTER ||

And that's your first half in the book.

This is definitely a surprising result so far, and now the two squads will head to the half to make adjustments. Carver did what they had to do, and they might be getting into the heads of the heavily-favored Thompson Warriors. We're still tied in Alabaster.

End of 2nd Qtr — CARVER MONTGOMERY 6, THOMPSON 6

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Well, it might be a little early to start talking the "upset" word, but this Carver team came to play tonight. They even it up with a nice drive, but their PAT is also no good. We're tied in Alabaster with just 34.8 seconds before halftime.

2nd Qtr: CARVER MONTGOMERY 6, THOMPSON 6

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Thompson finally breaks the ice with the first score of the 2025 season. It's a 56-yard yard Trent Seaborn-to-Dedrick Kimbrough. The PAT is off the left upright, no good.

2nd Qtr: THOMPSON 6, CARVER MONTGOMERY 0

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The second quarter is underway.

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|| FIRST QUARTER ||

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The first quarter ends with an exchange of turnovers, but no points on the board yet in Alabaster. That's the end of the first quarter.

End of 1st Qtr — CARVER MONTGOMERY 0, THOMPSON 0

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Thompson returned the favor with a turnover on Carver's side of the field after a decent drive. Carver returned it into Thompson's end, but the ensuing drive has stalled.

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Carver drove deep into Thompson territory, but fumbled the ball in the red zone.

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|| PREGAME ||

We're getting close to getting kicked off in Alabaster!

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WEATHER UPDATE

We are in a weather delay due to lightning at the moment. Hoping to get things started around 7:30 p.m. CST local/8:30 p.m. EST.

 

 

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A look in at the scene in Alabaster:

 

 

TEAM INFO ...

Thompson is the No. 16 team in the The Sporting News High School Football Top 25, heading into the 2025 campaign. As noted above, it was a strange year for Thompson with three big regular season losses, all of them coming by a single-point overtime. But they managed to pull it together in Alabama's Class 7A playoffs and win out to capture the state title.

Carver Montgomery had three losses of their own, but with all of them coming in region play, the Wolverines were left out in the cold come playoff time. They'll be hard-pressed to find a way to win tonight, but the good news is, it won't have any bearing on their playoff hopes.

Thompson is particularly well-stocked across the defensive line DL Viliami Moala (6-3, 340 lbs.), a North Carolina commit, and edge rusher Peter Ramil (6-5, 240 lbs.) who's headed to South Florida.

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WEATHER AND MORE ...

Alabaster is a city of about 35,000 just due south of Birmingham right off I-65 on the way to Montgomery. Pretty easy ride up from Montgomery most days.

According to the City of Alabaster's website, it dates back to 1896 when the Siluria Cotton Mill Co. built a mill on Buck Creek in the community of Siluria. The community around the mill grew quickly, and Alabaster, which was a nearby community, was seen as "growth potential." Later the two communities were merged.

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We've got that early look at your weather in the greater Birmingham area.

The Weather Channel is saying it's 86 degrees, but they are under a Special Weather Statement in the Birmingham area. Thunderstorms passing through the area with wind gusts up to 40 mph, so it's lookin a lot like weather could affect the evening as it did last Friday night in Georgia and earlier today in Miami, Florida.

That's just how it goes this time of year in the South, and we'll keep an eye on it. It is expected to clear out, for now, as we progress through the evening.

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TOP 25 AND THE GAME OF THE WEEK ...

While you're getting ready for tonight's big game, get yourself up to speed on the preseason edition of The Sporting News High School Football Top 25.

Then check out our TSN Game of the Week Recap featuring the No. 14 Milton (GA) Eagles at the No. 12 Buford (GA) Wolves on Thursday, August 14, 2025.

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OUR PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA TEAMS ...

Finally, don't miss out on The Sporting News Preseason All-American Teams that just debuted today!

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MORE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL HEADLINES ...

Kendall Webb

Kendall Webb is a freelance writer with The Sporting News and the former publisher of the College Football America Yearbook. He is a proud alumnus of Kilgore College (AA), the University of Texas at Austin (BJ), Middle Tennessee State University (BS), and Harvard University (ALM). Webb has attended a high school or college football game in more than 40 states during his career as a freelance journalist, and he remains an avid follower of team sports at all levels.