The562’s coverage of football in 2024-25 is sponsored by The Terry Donahue Memorial California Showcase.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
Thomas Jones doesn’t stop.
Last week during special teams practice, Wilson football coach Travis Clark shook his head and chuckled as Jones kicked the ball off and then ran past his kickoff teammates to chase it down. Jones could have waited for someone to throw the ball back to him for the next kick, but that’s just not his style.
“The kid just runs everywhere, he’s incredible, like one of those wind-up toys,” Clark said of Jones. “And he’s an amazing athlete.”
Jones has been able to use his natural athletic ability and nonstop motor to become an integral part of Wilson football. The 5’11” 160-pound junior rarely leaves the field as a starting receiver, defensive back and kicker. That created a special moment a few weeks ago when Jones caught the first touchdown of the quarterfinal win at Village Christian and then kicked the extra point to account for all seven on the scoreboard.
“I just want to do whatever I can to help the team win,” said Jones, who was also fighting off an illness that week. ““I was just battling to get to practice everyday, but there’s guys who are going through worse. I’m glad that I was able to go to practice… there’s guys out there who would be begging to go to practice this week. So I plowed through it, then on game day it was a lot of electrolytes and ibuprofen.”
Jones’ high-motor and unique skills set has helped Wilson reach the CIF Southern Section Division 9 championship game tonight at Highland. The Bruins are trying to win their first ever CIF title.
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“It’s huge, you know, we’re now part of history and it means everything to us,” Jones said. “We worked so hard and put so much time in and it’s all paying off.”
There were plenty of opportunities for Jones to hone his athletic skill while growing up in Long Beach as the youngest of five. He quickly took to soccer, basketball, baseball and eventually football.
“I definitely earned my stripes trying to play with the guys who were a little bit older than me,” Jones said of tagging along with his older brothers. “I think that’s where I get my competitive nature from.”
Jones was an accomplished soccer player with multiple elite club teams, but kept playing multiple sports because he felt like they were all connected.
“I think most of the sports I played went together with each other, every sport feeds off the other,” he said “It’s the coordination. Going up to get the ball in basketball just like in baseball, just being able to track the ball, that helped in football later down the line.”
Football didn’t start for Jones until he was a three-sport athlete as a freshman at Wilson. He played soccer and ran track, but his important roles on the football field made him concentrate harder on the gridiron.
“ I fell in love with the rush of playing football,” Jones said. “It’s electric.”
Jones also thinks that going to see his beloved Los Angeles Rams play in the 2018 Super Bowl played a role in his desire for football glory. He went to Atlanta with his mom, Katy Fahey, who works for the company that builds stages for Super Bowl halftime shows.
“It was my first (NFL) game and I still wear that Todd Gurley jersey,” Jones said. “It’s definitely a cool experience seeing all the pictures and the stuff (my mom has) been able to do. I wish I could see a little bit more up close, honestly.”
His parents made him wait until high school to play tackle football, so Jones was a hungry and highly-motivated player on both sides of the ball. He also learned to kick a football instead of a soccer ball.
“It’s a completely different thing. You strike the ball differently. It’s obviously a different shape so it flies differently.”
Jones was set up to play Varsity as a sophomore, but broke his ankle a few weeks before the season. Instead of packing it in and just waiting for his junior season, Jones worked hard to return for the last three games of the 2023 season for a team that had already been eliminated from playoff contention.
When the Bruins came back to prepare for this season, they had a whole new coaching staff that wasn’t afraid to loudly demand excellence from their team.
“What (Coach Clark and his assistant coaches) preach is that the players reflect your coaches so they say ‘If we’re intense hopefully it will get you guys to be intense,’” Jones said. “That’s really resonated with me to get more intense and take it more seriously because of that style of coaching.”
That coaching has also come from very reputable sources because receivers coach DeSean Jackson and defensive back coach Sean Weston both played in the NFL.
“(Jackson) understands the game at such a high level that everything he says you really have to listen closely and take it to heart completely,” Jones said.
As a slot receiver, Jones has 20 catches for 325 yards and two touchdowns this season. On defense, he’s compiled 54 total tackles and two interceptions from his safety position. Jones is also 37-for-42 on extra points.
“I feel like there’s a responsibility, to do everything I can,” Jones said. “I can make more of an impact.”
