Thompson is a senior running back and defender for Wayne football. In the Oct. 24 home game against Centerville, a 47-27 win, Thompson ran for 123 yards on 25 carries with a touchdown and caught a 20-yard pass on offense and scored another touchdown on a 58-yard interception return to go with a pair of tackles on defense.
For his efforts, Thompson was named the Dayton Daily News Athlete of the Week for Oct. 20 through Oct. 25, earning the honor through reader voting at DaytonDailyNews.com.
“I feel extremely blessed,” Thompson said of his nomination. “It’s a honor and a blessing to have won and know my community took the time out to vote for me.”
Thompson is Wayne’s leading rusher for a third consecutive year and he finished the regular season ranked fourth in the Greater Western Ohio Conference. He has rushed for 844 yards and is one of three players in the league to have run for at least 10 touchdowns this season.
An eight-yard touchdown run in the second quarter against Centerville gave his a 20-13 lead it wouldn’t relinquish. It was his pick-six that followed which helped change the momentum near halftime and propel his side to the win.
“Throughout the week our coaches said they like to throw to the boundary side, so once I knew he snapped the ball I read his eyes and saw him turn toward me and the ball came out, I knew I had to catch that,” Thompson said. “Soon as I caught it, I was ready to get into the end zone and celebrate with my teammates.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Thompson ranked the moment near the top of his career along with a 75-yard touchdown run he made against Reynoldsburg during his freshman season, and a 73-yard score against Springboro earlier this year. It occurring against Centerville made it feel amazing, he said.
He credits his teammates for having trust in him to fill his role and feels his off the field work through practice and watching film has made things easier over the years.
Wayne finished the season 6-4 overall and tied for second in the GWOC at 5-2 with Springboro. The Warriors qualified for the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season. Wayne has a first-round playoff game on Friday against Galloway Westland.
Thompson said the Senior Night game was special getting to play a final time at Heidkamp Stadium. Friday provides he and his teammates another opportunity.
“Knowing this is the last run in my high school career, I feel excited,” he said. “I feel like we got a chance to make a deep run in the playoffs and try and go for state.”
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