Alabama commit leads Thompson to comeback win over Hoover clinching school's first state title game appearance since 1982.
Video: Taulia Tagovailoa Highlights Senior season highlights of 2019 Alabama commit and MaxPreps Polynesian Bowl Player of the Week.
Thompson was trailing 28-17 facing a fourth-and-7 from its own 44 with six minutes left. That's when the 2019 Alabama commit put the team on his back. He found
AJ Bonham for a 56-yard touchdown with 5:55 left to cut the deficit to five after the failed two-point conversion. The defense came up huge and got the ball back for Tagovailoa and he led Thompson on an 85-yard drive in the final two minutes as
Shadrick Byrd capped it off with a three yard touchdown run to give Thompson a 31-28 lead in the final seconds.
The 4-star quarterback finished the night with 228 yards passing and a touchdown adding another 36 yards rushing to clinch a spot in the 7A championship game. While his stats weren't eye-popping, his leadership and ability to lead his team to a double-digit, fourth-quarter comeback makes him this week's MaxPreps Polynesian Bowl Player of the Week.
It is going to be a big-time next couple of weeks for the Tagovailoa family. Taulia and his Thompson team face Central (Phenix City) on Dec. 5 with the 7A state title up for grabs. Taulia's brother,
Tua Tagovailoa, helped Alabama become the second team in college football history to win its first 12 games of the season by at least 20 points and the Crimson Tide faces Georgia in the SEC Championship live on
CBS on at 4 p.m. E.T. on Dec. 1.
The 2019 Penn State commit led the Wolverines to a 46-21 win over Massaponax (Spotsylvania) to advance to the 5A Virginia state semifinals. The 4-star running back rushed for 170 yards and three scores and added two receptions for 51 yards and another touchdown.
The 2019 Stanford commit balled out against Benicia to clinch a spot in the North Coast Section Division II semifinals. The 4-star running back rushed for nearly 200 yards and three touchdowns in their 49-14 win.
The 2019 Michigan commit was a big-time playmaker on both sides of the ball in Freedom's 48-29 win over Amador Valley (Pleasanton) to clinch a spot in the North Coast Section Division I semifinals. Jackson finished the night with 60 yards rushing, hauled in five receptions for 80 yards and a score, and also forced a fumble and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown.
The top-rated player from Hawaii in the Class of 2020 showed out in the Open Division state championship game against Mililani. He had five tackles, two-and-a-half sacks, and returned a fumble 74 yards for a score in thei Crusaders' 38-17 win. It was St. Louis' third consecutive state championship and they have won 26 games in a row going all the way back to the 2016 season. Botelho and the Crusaders are currently ranked
No. 7 in the Xcellent 25 rankings presented by the Army National Guard.
