ESPN thinks it’s a big deal. The sports network’s ESPN2 cameras will be on hand at Thompson’s Warriors Stadium in Alabaster for Thursday’s 7 p.m. kickoff.

By the numbers, it’s a big deal. Thompson, the four-time defending Class 7A champion, is ranked No. 1 with a 4-0 record. Visitor Clay-Chalkville is 5-0 and ranked No. 2 in Class 6A. The Cougars are allowing just 4.8 points a game while scoring 34.8. The Warriors have scored 41.3 and surrendered 7.5.

To a couple of the standout performers set for the showdown, it’s a pretty big deal, but – you know, one-game-at-a-time and all.

“Really, the way I look at it and my teammates look at it is that it’s just another game,” Clay senior linebacker DJ Barber said. “It’s good to play on ESPN, on national TV with a packed house. But, when you start looking at all the other antics of the game, you stop looking at the main focus: what you have to do on the field.

“It’s just another test if you have the competitive spirit. You want to step up to that test. We know the brand of football Thompson plays. That person you’re staring at from across the field, you know you’re going to get their best every snap. When they bring their 100 percent, you have to bring your 100 percent – and more.”

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Thompson offensive lineman Kingsley Walters said, “I like where we are, but we have to keep working. We’ve got two of our toughest games in a row now, Clay and Hewitt-Trussville. They are both very good teams, so you have to make sure you don’t get complacent and keep working. You can never get satisfied because the second you do someone humbles you.”

Walters, a 6-foot-2, 265-pound senior who is starting at right guard, missed last season’s 17-14 win over the Cougars with a shoulder injury. “I remember the whole week was especially hyped up. They were coaching us up in practice. They were a top team in 6A, it’s ‘us against them.’ It was a lot more electric atmosphere during that game. It was two great teams going against each other. Why wouldn’t it be?”

Barber, a first-team Alabama Sports Writers Association All-State pick last season and a three-year starter, credits his defense’s hard work and that of coordinator Adam Helms for the eye-popping scoring defense numbers thus far. “He runs it like a military-style practice,” he said. “We need to push past our limits, every game, every practice, every workout with a mindset that it’s never good enough for us. Those standards keep us hungry to give more and more.

“We pride ourselves that defense wins ballgames and defense wins championships,” Barber said. “It’s nothing that we take lightly. With the success we had last year [Clay-Chalkville allowed 8.3 points a game in an 8-2 season], our goal this year was to be better than we were. We had high standards last year and everybody looked at that and thought, ‘Man, it’s going to be hard to beat that.’ But, this year, we’re beating it by a mile. That’s all thanks to coach Helms and the mindset he instilled with us to never be satisfied.”

Walters has taken note of the Cougars he’ll be facing on Thursday. “They run pretty base stuff,” he said, “but they run everything. They do all sorts of stuff. It’s nothing too complicated like Opelika and Vestavia, who do crazy blitzes, but they do bring pressure and shift fronts. Their interior guys are especially good coming off the ball. Their linebackers are good about flying to the ball.”

The Warriors have opened their latest defense of their state titles with four runaway wins, 44-13 over Opelika, 21-3 over Vestavia Hills, 55-14 over Spain Park and 43-0 over Chelsea.

“(Head) Coach (Mark) Freeman says every year is a new creature with a new feature,” Walters said. “Last year’s team is gone. Those seniors are gone and we have to find our own thing and reset.

“This year, we don’t really think about championships. It’s a mindset of we have to work to get there again. Pressure is a fear of failure, and we don’t fear failing. We know if we do our best, there’s a pretty good chance we’ll end up there again.

“If we do the perfect rep on one play and get all happy, chances are if you focus on that you’ll mess up. We have to have a short-term memory and keep on working.”

Walters said his game is focused on that hard work. “I like to be myself. I’m very hard-working. There are not many days that I come in and don’t give my best effort. I know our offense as well as any offensive lineman could. I don’t know all the pass routes, but I know some of them. I like to play smart and play physical to drive guys off the line and help my teammates where I can.”

Coach Drew Gilmer’s Clay-Chalkville squad has a pair of shutouts – 31-0 over Briarwood and 41-0 over Pinson Valley – to go with a 17-3 win over Hueytown, a 46-7 win over Pell City and a 39-14 victory at Center Point.

At the semester break, Barber will be joining his cousin, Austin Keys – a linebacker from Taylorsville, Miss., who transferred from Ole Miss – at Auburn. “I haven’t put any focus on that,” the 6-foot, 227-pounder said. “I’m still in high school right now. I play for Clay-Chalkville High School. I don’t play for Auburn University. My main focus is what I can do to bring another championship to Clay.”