Southmoore: Temporarily OK without Kendal Thompson...

By Justin Hite

Sure, call me bonkers, but there are plenty of reasons to think Kendal Thompson’s injury and absence won’t hurt the Southmoore SaberCats. Yeah, I get it. He’s a D-I commit to OU and an incredible talent. By no way am I making any sort of claim that Southmoore can make a run in the Class 6A playoffs without him. But there is absolutely no reason to rush him back. Here are five good reasons why:

Tre Edwards is a gamer…. Edwards first completed pass was a touchdown against Westmoore. Oddly enough it was to Kendal Thompson. But then things got bad. Edwards threw six straight incompletions. And they were bad incompletions as he missed a few open receivers and struggled. But then the sophomore did something that nobody outside of Southmoore’s sideline expected. Edwards clicked when he needed to and complete 5 of 6 passes to close the game including his final four as he marched Southmoore back. When the SaberCats needed him, Edwards was clutch.

Legitimate passing options have emerged… Before the season, there were questions about how well a young group of receivers would develop. Two weeks in and there are some serious passing threats running down the field in Southmoore uniforms. The best is probably Jackson Stallings. There’s nothing better for a young quarterback than a strong tight end — yes, even at the high school level. Stallings, also just a sophomore, is 6-foot-1 and a reliable pass catcher. The SaberCats also have 6-foot sophomore Nick Ward, who caught four passes Friday, and senior Caleb Willis. Six different SaberCats caught a pass against Westmoore, so there’s a lot of depth there as well.