By George Slaughter
Tompkins won its first-ever football district title with a 52-0 win over Seven Lakes Friday night at Legacy Stadium.
The Falcons’ title is another milestone in the program’s improvement under Coach Todd McVey. Tompkins suffered through an 0-9 record in 2017, his first season at the school. In 2018, the team improved to its first-ever winning season and playoff berth, finishing with a 10-3 record. Last season, the Falcons improved to 11-2, achieving another playoff berth.
In both of those seasons, the Falcons were runners-up to Katy, which had won the district title in every year since 2008. The Falcons defeated Katy earlier this month for the first time in school history. Friday’s win improves the Falcons to 8-0 overall, and 6-0 in District 19-6A.
Senior quarterback Jalen Milroe said that winning the district title was one of the team’s goals this season.
“It feels great to accomplish it,” Milroe said. “We set our goals for the year, focus on one week at a time and put in the work. We had a great week of work and we’re proud to accomplish this goal.”
Tompkins, Katy, and Taylor hold the first three playoff spots from the district. Seven Lakes, which needed a win to earn the final playoff spot, falls to 2-5 overall, 2-3 in district.
Tompkins wasted no time in establishing control Friday, scoring on each of its first six possessions to take a 42-0 lead into halftime.
“In the pregame, I talked to the guys, gave them the speech,” Milroe said. “We want to grow from each game. We came out on fire and I’m proud of the guys. They wanted it more.”
Milroe threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Joshua McMillan to begin the scoring. Milroe, who is committed to play at the University of Alabama next season, finished 6-of-8 for 107 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior running back Marquis Shoulders scored the first of this three touchdowns on Tompkins’s next drive, an 8-yard run. Shoulders finished with 12 carries for 130 yards.
“Last week (against Mayde Creek, a 56-21 Tompkins win) we kind of started out slow,” Shoulders said. “This week we wanted to start fast. Our linemen, they’re blocking good. They opened big holes, and I exploited them.”
McVey said the desire for a fast start against the Spartans was a topic of focus this week at practice. Like Milroe, McVey said the team had a good week of practice.
“I really like how the kids responded to that,” McVey said. “They had a great week of practice.”
Senior running back Sherman Smith scored on an 18-yard run to end the first quarter. Smith finished with six carries for 56 yards.
Shoulders scored his other two touchdowns in the second quarter. The first of them came on a 15-yard run, and his second on a 47-yard run at the 5:11 mark.
Milroe threw a 16-yard scoring pass to sophomore wide receiver Mathew Ogunrin with seven seconds left in the first half.
The Falcons got a 29-yard field goal from senior kicker Hunter Huckaby in the third quarter, and a 62-yard pass from senior quarterback Caleb Freeman to senior wide receiver Sam Mills in the fourth quarter to conclude the scoring.
The Falcons’ defense was equally impressive, holding Seven Lakes to only 43 yards total offense.
“All the work we put in has finally paid off for us seniors,” senior defensive back Colby Huerter said.