Thompson’s pick sparks Warriors
When: Tonight, 7 Where: Atholton turnovers, but the Warriors could not convert.
Midway through the first quarter, Thompson picked off a Woodlawn pass and ran 61 yards for the touchdown. Quarterback Damontaa Johns converted the twopoint conversion and the Warriors led 8-0. They would never trail.
“It was a big confidence booster for us,” the junior said of his touchdown. “I felt like me getting an interception, it set the tone early. It got everybody hyped and ready to play and I feel like that started a great game.”
The Warriors defense didn’t give up much, and it held off repeated attempts by the Titans to score from within the 10-yard line late in the first half. The Titans got within a yard and a half of the goal line, but the Warriors held.
“We just had to stay fundamentally sound,” junior linebacker Antonio DeShields said. “We’ve been working all week in practice trying to stay from jumping offsides. We’ve just got a lot of guys who want to work together and it’s a bigger picture than just this game.”
The Titans had a chance to tie after Darron Broach forced a fumble. Gerrell Johnson recovered it and raced 69 yards for a touchdown, but the Warriors stopped the conversion attempt.
About four minutes later, Woodlawn added to its 8-6 lead when Juwan Rabb ran for 14-yard touchdown with 1.3 seconds left in the third quarter. Malachi Dalton scored on the conversion run and Woodlawn led 16-6
New Town coach Mike Savage said the game was a learning experience for his young team after their hot start.
“They’re senior heavy. We’re not,” Savage said. “I’ve probably got six seniors. These guys are young.”