High School Football

Tompkins outlasts Cinco Ranch in offensive shootout

By Tyler Tyre, Sports Editor
Posted 10/18/24

“I knew how important this game was, even if it was my first time playing in it. We went in with the lead at halftime and we just said we cannot let our foot off the gas. I think we all just wanted it so much and that’s what pushed us through.”

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High School Football

Tompkins outlasts Cinco Ranch in offensive shootout

Posted

Thursday was a make or break game for Tompkins.

A win over Cinco Ranch and the Falcons would be in prime position to fight for a playoff spot, putting themselves in a position where they controlled their own destiny for the remainder of district play. A loss on the other hand, and things would get tricky for the Falcons heading down the stretch of district.

The Falcons knew the stakes, and the players responded with one of their strongest games of the season, gaining an early lead and never giving it up in a 50-45 win over Cinco Ranch, improving the Falcons to 4-3 overall and 3-2 in District 19-6A play.

“We just came in today with a winning mindset through the whole game,” said senior captain and offensive lineman Deacon Parish. “We took a lead early and the whole mindset was just, don’t let them back into this game. We knew what we had to do and went out and executed it.”

It was an offensive slugfest and Tompkins came out swinging from the start. After stopping Cinco on its opening drive, the Falcons went down the field and scored when Justin Thierheimer broke free on a scramble and went 39 yards for a touchdown. Cinco answered back with a 40-yard touchdown pass from Charlie Adamoli to Scott Eckel, but Tompkins put distance between itself and Cinco in in the second quarter, using two touchdown runs from Ethan Meadows from 14 and six yards out sandwiched between an interception by Daniel Kalu to go up by 22 points before Cinco trimmed the halftime deficit to 28-14 after a 1-yard touchdown run from Brayden Gonzalez.

Tompkins defense did what it had to do in the game, forcing multiple turnovers and getting the ball back to the offense, which was near unstoppable on the day.

“The defense of today is making plays and situational football,” said Tompkins head coach Todd McVey. “I’m super proud of those guys and you can see how they’re getting better week in and week out. It’s a young group on defense and they were thrown in the fire. You don’t learn when it’s easy and it hasn’t been. These guys on defense have stepped up, embraced our culture and they’re getting better.”

The Falcons went back up by 22 to start the third quarter when Meadows ran in a 19-yard touchdown, but Cinco made a valiant attempt at a comeback. The Cougars made it a 14 points game when Gonzalez ran in a touchdown from 60-yards out and then made it a one score game when Adamoli found Drew Tureau for a 19-yard touchdown pass near the end of the third quarter. Tompkins answered back at the beginning of the fourth, when Thierheimer threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to James Mayes. It continued to go back and forth through the fourth quarter, Adamoli made it a one score game on a 44-yard touchdown pass to Eckel, but Meadows answered back with his fourth touchdown of the day, a 2-yard run. Marcus Gadlin then punched in a 1-yard touchdown run with just over four minutes remaining. Tompkins got the ball back and left no doubt from there. They went into a heavy formation with seven men on the line of scrimmage and an H-back and ran the ball, forcing the Cougars to use all of their timeouts and eventually running out all of the time in the game altogether to seal the win.

“We knew that in that situation we just have one job, and that’s an offensive lineman’s favorite job,” said senior captain Erben Birkhoff. “We knew we had to run the ball, go down the field and kill all the time left. We’re confident in everyone from the quarterback to the running back to the line to do that and it just comes down to mindset. We were prepared for this moment, and we made sure to put the game away.”

Meadows ended the game with 236 yards on 36 carries, while Thierheimer threw for 174 yards as Tompkins offense had its best game of the season. It’s been a theme for the Falcons, they grow and get better as the season goes on and it seems like this group is clicking at an important time.

“I knew how important this game was, even if it was my first time playing in it,” Meadows said. “We went in with the lead at halftime and we just said we cannot let our foot off the gas. I think we all just wanted it so much and that’s what pushed us through.”

The Falcons get Seven Lakes next before facing off against Katy and Taylor to round out the district schedule. They will be looking to keep moving forward, continue to improve and lean on an offensive line that has been excellent for the past few weeks.

“Those guys on the line, they’re just a close knit group and they’re still getting closer and unlocking their potential,” McVey said. “That’s the part I want to see them continue to grow because that is what is making them so great. They’re a brotherhood and it’s great to see them continue to grow and lead us like they have.”

Tompkins 50, Cinco Ranch 45

Cinco Ranch

6

8

16

15

 

--

45

Tompkins

7

21

8

14

 

--

50

First quarter

T: Justin Thierheimer 39 run (Mauricio Vasquez kick) 6:13

CR: Charlie Adamoli 40 pass to Scott Eckel, 4:05

Second quarter

T: Thierheimer 11 pass to Carter Young (Vasquez kick) 10:40

T: Ethan Meadows 14 run (Vasquez kick) 8:20

T: Meadows 6 run (Vasquez kick) 2:33

CR: Brayden Gonzalez 1 run (Eckel run) 0:15

Third quarter

T: Meadows 19 run (Thierheimer pass) 10:16

CR: Gonzalez 60 run (Adamoli pass to Gonzalez) 8:22

CR: Adamoli 19 pass to Drew Tureau (Eckel run) 2:41

Fourth quarter

T: Thierheimer 11 pass to James Mayes (Thierheimer pass to Young) 11:18

CR: Adamoli 44 pass to Eckel (Eckel run) 9:56

T: Meadows 2 run, 6:41

CR: Marcus Gadlin 1 run (Reagan kick) 4:17

Team Statistics

Cinco Ranch

Tompkins

  First downs

14

20

  Yards rushing

23-151

42-287

  Yards passing

267

174

  Passes

18-32-3-1

11-16-2-0

  Punts

1-40

2-36.5

  Fumbles-lost

0-0

0-0

  Penalty-yards

1-15

2-20

Individual Statistics

Rushing – Tompkins: Ethan Meadows, 26-236-4; Justin Thierheimer, 5-48-1; Robert Bernard, 1-3; Cinco Ranch: Brayden Gonzalez, 11-107-2; Marcus Gadlin, 9-50-1; Charlie Adamoli, 1-5; Jacob Chevez, 1-5;

Passing – Tompkins: Justin Thierheimer, 11-16-174-2-0; Cinco Ranch: Charlie Adamoli, 18-32-269-3-1;

Receiving – Tompkins: KJ Madison, 3-75; Bisi Bello, 5-70; Carter Young, 2-18-1; James Mayes, 1-11-1; Cinco Ranch: Scott Eckel, 9-152-2; Drew Tureau, 5-53-1; Matthew Courtois, 2-46; Brayden Gonzalez, 1-16;  

Katy ISD, Tompkins, Cinco Ranch, sports, football, District 19-6A