All signs point toward another 7A Alabama football championship for the No. 18
Thompson (Alabaster) Warriors (12-1). But unbeaten
Central (Phenix City) has its own destination in mind when the two teams face off Wednesday in the Alabama High School Athletic Association championship game at Protective Stadium in Birmingham.
Central (13-0) is coming off a 28-17 semifinal win over Auburn behind quarterback
Caleb Nix, the younger brother of Auburn quarterback Bo Nix. The senior accounted for 281 yards and three touchdowns, including a 54-yard run in the fourth quarter to seal it.
For the season, the 6-foot, 193-pounder has passed for 2,666 yards and 36 touchdowns, 17 of which have gone to 6-foot-1, 175-pound junior
Karmello English (68 catches, 1,032 yards), who has 11 college offers including Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Texas A&M and Tennessee.
How to watch
When: Wednesday, Dec. 1, 7 p.m. ET
Where: Protective Stadium, Birmingham
Online streaming: NFHS NetworkNix has also rushed for 626 yards and 11 more scores for the high-powered Red Devils attack, which has piled up 564 points and averages 455 yards per game, almost evenly divided between the run and the pass.
On defense, the Red Devils are led by Cincinnati commit
Jonquis Hardaway, a 6-3, 195-pound cornerback with six interceptions, and 6-5, 250-pound defensive end
Tomarrion Parker (72 tackles, 9.5 sacks, 23 tackles for loss).
Thompson's Jeremiah Alexander (7) is Alabama's top high school recruit for the Class of 2022.
File photo by Brandon Sumrall
Parker will be trying to harass calm, cool and athletic North Carolina-bound quarter
Conner Harrell, who has backed up a monster junior campaign with an equally strong senior one.
The lanky 6-foot-1, 190-pound Harrell has 2,532 yards and 39 touchdowns in 12 games after throwing for 3,568 yards and 42 touchdowns in 14 games as a junior. He's thrown six interceptions over two seasons in 371 attempts.
Harrell was injured and didn't play the second half of the team's only loss, a 24-21 defeated to Hoover. He had thrown for 181 yards and two touchdowns when the Warriors had a 21-10 halftime lead.
The two teams faced off again at Hoover in the semifinals and Thompson breezed to a 35-10 victory with a healthy Harrell. He was 11-of-12 passing for 142 yards and four touchdowns, three to
Ryan Peppins (six catches, 121 yards), a Utah commit who has 73 catches for 1,175 yards and 21 TDs on the season. With a run-by-committee approach — five rushers have gained between 346 and 645 yards — Harrell doesn't need to pass every down.
As good as Thompson's offense has been — the Warriors have scored 598 points — their strength is on defense, with five shutouts and 77 points allowed. Leading the charge is the state's top senior recruit in Alabama-bound linebacker
Jeremiah Alexander (86 tackles. 27 for loss, including nine sacks), along with
Peter Woods (84 tackles, 10 sacks) and another Alabama commit, cornerback
Trequon Fegans.
There is definitely strong recent history between the two teams.
This is the third time in four years they've faced off for the 7A state title. Central won 52-7 in 2018, while Thompson returned the favor in 2019 with a 40-14 victory.
Last season, Thompson stunned Auburn 29-28, scoring 10 points in the final 18 seconds to win its second straight 7A crown.
Thompson quarterback Conner Harrell has thrown 81 touchdowns in two varsity seasons.
File photo by Brandon Sumrall
