Tompkins had a clear goal on Thursday.

The Falcons were in a nearly must win situation. A win over Jordan would put Tompkins into the playoffs, while a loss would leave them having to rely on outside results in order to keep a playoff streak alive.

The players answered the call for the Falcons, as all three units stepped up with big plays on the way to a 49-24 win as Tompkins clinched a playoff berth for the sixth straight season.

“These guys live the culture every day,” said Tompkins head coach Todd McVey after clinching the playoff appearance. “17 and 18-year-old kids buying into that culture is not an easy thing so it’s a blessing that we have as a staff that they do. These guys listen, they ask questions and we love that and we love to answer those. It’s not just doing what you’re told in this culture. They make us better as coaches and we make them better. Our core values lead the way and these guys go out there and prove it every day on the field. It’s just fun to watch them put it together in the games.”

The Falcons came out fired up and jumped ahead early. It took just two plays for Tompkins to go 77-yards as Caleb Blocker run in a 25-yard score under a minute into the game. Tompkins defense got the ball right back as Josh Davis made an interception and the Falcons came right back to score again on a Blocker 15-yard run to go up two scores.

Jordan found a way back into the game after that and scored on an unlikely play to trim the deficit to one score. Domenic Cangolosi had to come in at quarterback for a play after Colin Willetts helmet came off on a scramble and Cangolosi threw a 58-yard touchdown pass to Zechariah Sample on that play, making it 14-7. Tompkins came back with the answer as Wyatt Young ran in a 48-yard touchdown, but Sample took the ensuing kickoff back 95-yards for a touchdown to get the Warriors right back into it. Jordan’s defense came up with a stop after that and the offense turned the opportunity into points after driving down the field with Willetts throwing a 7-yard score to Andrew Marsh to tie it, but Tompkins responded with a score just 30 seconds before halftime as Young threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Adebisi Bello, putting the Falcons up 28-21 at halftime.

Tompkins came out with a concerted effort to pound the ball in the run game on offense and control the tempo and clock, keeping the ball away from the explosive Jordan offense. It paid dividends as it kept the defense fresh and it was that unit that made a couple of key stops in the second half.

“It was huge for us to keep control of the clock and run time as an offense,” said senior offensive lineman Ashton Funk. “They have a lot of good players on their offense so any time you can keep it away from them it’s a win. We just wanted to make sure we got everything out of every play.”

The first of those stops came right at the beginning of the half. Jordan moved the ball well on its first drive and got to the 4-yard line for a first and goal, but the Falcons pushed them backwards three straight plays and forced a field goal. The Falcons offense came back with a strong drive and even when Young had to go to the sideline with a small injury his backup Justin Thierheimer came in and made an impact throwing a 23-yard touchdown to Rhys Phillips. The Falcons made a defensive stop after, but the Warriors defense came up with a big play in turn, forcing a fumble at their own 1-yard line and recovering it in their own endzone early in the fourth quarter to keep their chances alive. But the Tompkins defense made a stop of its own on the next drive, forcing Jordan into a fourth and extremely long and then a turnover on downs. Young scored on a 29-yard touchdown to make things even harder for the Warriors and then Tompkins did a surprise onside kick, getting the ball back with Young capping things off with another touchdown, a 33-yard run.

Young finished the game with 231 yards rushing and three rushing touchdowns, adding 61 yards through the air and a passing touchdown. Blocker ran for 208 yards and two scores and caught two passes for 25 yards while the Falcons rushed for 487 yards as a team.

“Our offensive line is the center of us, they are the central part of everything we do on offense,” Young said. “I can’t say enough about them. They control the ine of scrimmage the whole game, they let the guys in the backfield get shifty and open things up for us. I give those guys all the credit because they block everything up perfectly and that is the start of everything.”

Tompkins will close out the regular season with a game against Paetow before heading into the playoffs, in all likelihood the Falcons will be the second seed out of Division I in the playoffs.

“We had our bumps at the beginning of the season, but guys are starting to reach tier full potential and it’s exciting,” Davis said. “Everyone here just goes out there and play hard and as long as we keep doing that we are going to keep getting better.”

Tompkins 49, Jordan 24

First quarter

T: Caleb Blocker 25 run (Williams Duncan kick) 11:14

T: Blocker 15 run (Duncan kick) 6:18

J: Domenic Cangolosi 58 pass to Zechariah Sample (Wilson Kalvass kick) 4:52

T: Wyatt Young 48 run (Duncan kick) 0:42

J: Sample 95 kick return (Kalvass kick) 0:28

Second quarter

J: Colin Willetts 7 pass to Andrew Marsh (Kalvass kick) 3:39

T: Young 20 pass to Adebisi Bello (Duncan kick) 0:30

Third quarter

J: Kalvass 29 field goal, 7:59

T: Justin Thierheimer 23 pass to Rhys Phillips (Duncan kick) 4:02

Fourth quarter

T: Wyatt Young 29 run (Duncan kick) 3:28

T: Wyatt Young 33 run (Duncan kick) 1:24

Team stats

Individual Statistics

Rushing – Tompkins: Wyatt Young, 17-231-3; Caleb Blocker, 28-208-2; Jhase McMillan, 7-48; Jordan: Tanner West, 9-54; Van Keith Brown, 3-26; Jeremy Alo-Perry, 2-(-3); Colin Willettts, 8-(-10);

Passing – Tompkins: Wyatt Young, 5-7-61-1-0; Justin Thierheimer, 2-2-34-1-0; Joran: Colin Willetts, 10-17-161-1-1; Domenic Cangolosi, 1-1-58-1-0;

Receiving – Tompkins: Adebisi Bello, 2-28-1; Caleb Blocker, 2-25; Rhys Phillips, 1-23; Dylan Rodriguez, 2-19; Jordan: Zechariah Sample, 3-81-1; Van Kieth Grown, 3-75; Andrew Marsh, 4-57; Jeremy Alo-Perry, 1-6;