By CLAYTON HURDLE/For the Reporter

The Oak Mountain Eagles scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns to earn a 36-22 senior night win over Thompson Friday.

Late in the game, the Eagles rode senior fullback Galen Lloyd to put and keep the game out of the Warriors’ reach. Lloyd rushed for two touchdowns, the last two Oak Mountain scores of the game.

“We’ve been pushing the issue with Galen,” Oak Mountain head coach Cris Bell said. “We know he’s capable of runs like that. He’s had an up-and-down year, but a good senior season. It’s a good way for him to finish off the region schedule.”

Lloyd’s first score, a 25-yard run, capped a three-play, 69-yard Oak Mountain drive with 4:15 to play in the game to make the score 29-15.

Thompson responded with a 73-yard Dee Tolbert touchdown less than a minute later, giving the game a one-score difference.

Oak Mountain faced third-and-two at midfield with two minutes remaining when it turned to Lloyd to seal the deal.

Lloyd ran the ball for a short pickup and first down. On the game’s next play, Lloyd dashed down the right sideline for a 37-yard pickup and first-and-goal.

A five-yard run set up his one-yard touchdown to cap his night with 16 seconds remaining.

“It was this play that worked really well against the defense,” Lloyd said. “Every time I got the ball on that play it just worked. I’m glad to help my brothers out with this win that we really needed.”

The Eagles took the lead for good in the third quarter. A Thompson personal foul after a12-yard Warren Shader run put Oak Mountain in Warrior territory before Shader took the ball another 31 yards on the very next play for the first score of the half.

Josh Gaines scored the two-point conversion to put the Eagles ahead 14-8.

With the score still 14-8, Oak Mountain opened the fourth quarter with an over-the-shoulder pass from Shader to his brother Harold. Harold Shader took the ball into the end zone after the catch, to complete a 69-yard scoring play.

Defensively, junior linebacker Riley Fowler led the team with more than a dozen tackles. Fowler also scored on a two-point conversion after the Shader-to-Shader touchdown pass.

“Coach called our run up the middle, and I found a hole,” Fowler said. “I just got lucky. The win is a great way to honor our seniors, and I’m going to miss them.”

Oak Mountain finished region play with a 3-4 record.

Though a Wetumpka victory over Stanhope Elmore knocked the Eagles out of playoff consideration, Oak Mountain (4-5) will head to Clay-Chalkville next week in hopes of finishing .500 overall.

“We’re going to keep doing what we do,” Bell said. “We’re going to have our hands full with a big, physical team. We have to play sound as long as we can and go from there.”