By George Slaughter
Tompkins exploded for 27 second quarter points to cruise to a 48-0 victory over Morton Ranch Friday night at Legacy Stadium.
Tompkins improves to 5-0 overall, 3-0 in District 19-6A. Morton Ranch falls to 1-4 and 0-3, respectively.
The Falcons are playing with confidence, and it showed against the Mavericks. Tompkins coach Todd McVey said the team had a good week of practice, adding that he tells the players they win games on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
“Our mentality is, go 1-0, play one game at a time,” McVey said. “We may be boring, but that’s what we do.”
The Falcons scored on their first possession with a 39-yard pass from senior quarterback Jalen Milroe to junior wide receiver Joshua McMillan.
Tompkins didn’t score again until the second quarter, when it scored three touchdowns and two field goals. The first touchdown of the quarter came on a 39-yard pass from senior quarterback Jalen Milroe to junior wide receiver Joshua McMillan.
The Falcons defense got into the scoring act on the ensuing possession when senior defensive back Temisan Alatan intercepted a Morton Ranch pass and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown.
“He was in the right place,” McVey said. “It hit him in the hands, and we say to them, if it hits you in the hands, take it to the house.”
On their next possession, the Falcons scored on a 23-yard field goal by senior kicker Hunter Huckaby, who also kicked all the extra points.
Senior running back Sherman Smith scored on a seven-yard run with 2:12 remaining, and then Huckaby added a 34-yard field goal with 17 seconds left to effectively settle the game.
Senior running back Marquis Shoulders had two touchdowns in the third quarter to conclude the scoring. One touchdown came on a 58-yard run in which he ran right, to the outside, and sprinted past the Morton Ranch defenders. The other came on a 49-yard touchdown pass from Milroe.
“The linemen, they blocked great tonight,” Shoulders said. “They did last week, also. They’ve improved a lot and are much better.”
Maintaining their focus has been a key to the Falcons’ success this season.
“This was a homecoming game, and there were a lot of distractions, but there have been lot of distractions this year, right?” McVey said. “I’m really proud of their focus. I’m really proud of our special teams. I told them I wanted to see all three areas tonight.”
They did so Friday. Doing it during a pandemic is a challenge in itself.
“The thing is, if you’re following the protocols, and we’ve been doing a good job of that, then you get to do what you’re supposed to be doing,” McVey said. “It is what it is. You adjust and keep playing. The kids have worked extremely hard to be as safe as they can.”
Tompkins will next face Katy at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Legacy Stadium. The long-awaited matchup has been rescheduled three times as the district works with schools reporting coronavirus cases among their players. Like Tompkins, Katy is undefeated with a 5-0 overall, 2-0 District 19-6A record. The Tigers defeated Dickinson, 49-7, in a non-district game Friday night at Sam Vitanza Stadium in Dickinson.
Katy defeated Tompkins in a hard-fought 35-30 game last season.
Morton Ranch will next face Mayde Creek at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Rhodes Stadium.