It will be difficult for any high school athlete to match the heroics of Jacob Thomas.
A standout quarterback and safety for Stone Bridge High in Ashburn, this past spring Thomas caught the game-winning pass in overtime that lifted the Bulldogs to the spring 2021 Virginia 5A state championship.
Thomas moved to quarterback this fall and he capped his high school career with one more unforgettable play. Thomas had thrown a touchdown pass and run for a two-point conversion that tied Saturday’s Virginia 5A championship game with four-and-a-half minutes left. Following a defensive stop, the Bulldogs took over on their own 10-yard line with 59 seconds left.
Some coaches might have been conservative and played for overtime. Stone Bridge coach Mickey Thompson, though, had confidence in Thomas, who once again delivered.
Thomas quickly guided the Bulldogs down the field. On the game’s final play, from the Maury 38-yard line, Thomas rolled left and heaved the ball deep to the right. Wide receiver Ezekiel Wimbush came back to the ball to make the catch, then fought his way into the end zone for a game-winning touchdown as Stone Bridge pulled off a 27-21 victory.
“Every time there is a big moment, Jacob comes through,” Thompson said. “The moment is never too big for him. When he took us down the field to tie the game, it looked effortless, a man among boys. Then he takes us down the field again. Don’t get me wrong, there are other people making plays too, but he puts them in position to make it happen.”
For his efforts, Thomas was named the Military Bowl DC Touchdown Club High School Football Player of the Week for the second time this season. The Player of the Week is honored throughout each Wednesday on WTOP.
Thomas’s stats in the championship game were modest. He completed 5 of 10 passes for 138 yards and rushed five times for 42 yards. But Thomas made the most of those completions, including a 19-yard touchdown pass to Doniven Cooper on fourth-and-12 and a 36-yard touchdown to Dylan Hundertmark that pulled the Bulldogs within 21-19 with less than five minutes left. Thomas then ran in the two-point conversion to tie the game.
The game-winning pass was Thomas’s 31st touchdown pass this season, breaking the school record previously set by Thompson’s son, Patrick.
“He’s the best quarterback in the state,” Mickey Thompson said. “He’s ridiculous. Somebody is going to put him at quarterback [in college] and he’s going to be unbelievable.”
