Thompson's Tagovailoa passes for 350 yards against TCHS
NORTHPORT – Alabama commitment Taulia Tagovailoa led Thompson High School to a 35-0 victory over Tuscaloosa County on Friday night in a Class 7A, Region 3 contest.
Tagovailoa, the younger brother of Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, completed 25 of 48 passes for 350 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for a 2-yard touchdown.
“It’s a great victory on the road and like coach said we really needed this game,” Tagovailoa said. “I felt like our guys played good and there is always things we have to work on, me personally as well as our offense, but the defense played lights-out and we got a win.”
Thompson jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, and Tagovailoa connected with Shadrick Byrd on a 10-yard touchdown pass with 30 seconds left before halftime to take a 21-0 advantage.
“I thought our kids played really, really hard,” TCHS coach John Holladay said. “We didn’t make a couple breaks and we almost got close to some turnovers, and I thought they still have a really good team offensively, and I think (Tagovailoa) is as good as advertised.
"I’m proud of the way our kids fought. We were in the game for a long time, but we just couldn’t get a break to get us going offensively.”
Thompson’s defense held TCHS to 131 total yards.
“Defensively, to get a shutout on the road you can't be too unhappy. I’m really pleased with the defense,” Thompson coach Mark Freeman said. “I think as a team we’ve just got to keep getting better.”
Both Thompson (4-1, 2-1) and TCHS (1-4, 0-3) are headed into bye weeks.
“Our kids, there is no quit in them,” Holladay said. “They are getting better.”
Reach Joey Chandler at joey.chandler@tuscaloosanews.com or at 205-722-0223.