After Pelham and Thompson spent much of the game driving the ball down each other’s throat, it was the Warriors who made a defensive stand when it mattered most Friday night.

Trailing by five with the ball inside the Warriors 10-yard line, Pelham handed the ball off inside to E.J. O’Hara, who was met on the fourth-down play by Thompson defender Michael Hall and finished off by Chase Myles and Michael Hundley.

&uot;(O’Hara) had been running up the gut all night. Coach told us to clog it up and make him force it outside,&uot; Hall said. &uot;I just reacted.&uot;

Thompson quarterback Chris Myles took a knee to end the game with a 35-30 victory.

When the dust had cleared, Thompson (4-2) celebrated a key region win against its bitter rival in a game that featured more than 800 yards of total offense.

While the two teams swapped offensive blows througout the game, strikes between the two apparently began earlier in the week with both schools suffering damage from vandalism, including the playing surface at Thompson’s James L. Simmons stadium.

Thompson’s go-ahead score came on a 14-yard pass from Chris Myles to Kenny Betts.

Betts also hauled in a touchdown pass in the first quarter and finished with 78 receiving yards. Chris Myles was 8-of-10, passing for 166 yards.

Touted wide receiver Montez Billings had a big night for Pelham, catching seven Chase Armstrong passes for 140 yards and a touchdown. Billings also scored on a 24-yard reverse.

Jeffrey Adams carried 20 times for 93 yards and three touchdowns for Thompson.

&uot;After what they came out here and did to our field, we had to get revenge tonight,&uot; Adams said