The West Point High School football team may have played its most complete game of the regular season Sept. 9 when it defeated Starkville 33-12.
The Green Wave will attempt to duplicate that feat at 7 tonight when the teams meet again in the second round of the Class 5A North State playoffs at Starkville’s Yellow Jacket Field.
“When we played the first time, we knew we beat a really good football team,” West Point coach Chris Chambless said. “You also knew deep down inside there was a good chance you would see them again on down the road.”
The roles have been reversed for the rematch. West Point had won back-to-back Region 1 championships but finished second this season. Starkville went undefeated in Region 2 to win its first region title in 10 years.
With both teams posting playoff wins at home last week, the higher seed placed Starkville in a position to play host to the rematch.
“We are real excited about playing this game,” West Point junior running back Tez Lane said. “The first time around gives us a lot of confidence. Granted, we know we haven’t done anything yet. Everything starts out even. We will have to go out and make the plays necessary to advance.”
With Starkville dropping from Class 6A to Class 5A this year, the door was open for what will be the first playoff game between the longtime rivals.
“It makes for a great football game,” Chambless said. “There is a lot of tradition with each of these schools. The stakes will be higher than any other Starkville versus West Point game from the past.”
West Point is the two-time defending Class 5A state champions. The Green Wave only loss last season was a 21-20 home setback to Starkville. West Point cruised to a 33-13 victory at Starkville in 2009.
“The key is to not make any mistakes,” Lane said. “When you get to this point, everybody is going to be ready to play. Everybody is going to be focused. Everybody is going to be good. It comes down to executing. You just have to be better at what you are doing then the team you are playing.”
Starkville (10-2) is riding an eight-game win streak. It opened the postseason with 42-28 home win against Hernando. Starkville struggled out of the gate to a 2-2 start. It lost to Noxubee County (33-20) and West Point.
West Point (8-4) has won three straight. It defeated Neshoba Central 43-14 in its playoff opener last week at home. After dropping a one-point region loss to Center Hill, West Point bounced back and made sure the second seed in the region was nailed down with victories against Oxford (31-21) and New Hope (56-20).
West Point’s only non-region victory came against Starkville. It opened the year with back-to-back losses to South Panola (37-17) and Columbus (35-27). After the Starkville win, West Point lost to Noxubee County (22-17).
“This team has really come a long way,” Chambless said. “On the defensive side of the ball, we have really grown up a lot. There are still some mistakes, but we are young in several key positions. On the offensive side of the ball, we compete well when we don’t turn the ball over.”
West Point continues to be a power-attack rushing offense. The Green Wave is averaging 292 rushing yards per game. Quarterback DeQuinten Spraggins leads the way with 1,130 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. Lane has 1,089 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. Sophomore Aeris Williams has 778 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Spraggins is 67 of 141 for 1,023 yards with nine touchdowns and four interceptions. Senior William Harrell has a team-best 23 receptions for 346 yards and three touchdowns.
“The kids have handled the pressure and expectations of our program well this year,” Chambless said. “Now it is just a matter of going out and playing West Point football.”
The Starkville-West Point winner will meet Center Hill or Ridgeland next Friday night for the North State championship.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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