BY DANIEL SCHMIDT THE OBSERVER OPELIKA — From the outside looking in, the 7A state championship game was one of the most notable David-versus-Goliath matchups in recent years. Opelika High School, the fifth-smallest in its division, faced Thompson High School, the fourth-largest and winners of five of the last six 7A state championships. Even with that in mind, the Bulldogs carried a defiant swagger into Birmingham’s Protective Stadium on Dec. 3, after making an improbable playoff run that included wins over three top-seven teams. But in the end, their proverbial stone never struck its mark, and the Warriors (11-3) carried the night with a dominant 48-10 win over OHS (10-4). This was the...
