WEST POINT — Most coaches will agree there are two periods of a football game — the first five minutes and the first five minutes of the second half — that are critical as far as establishing momentum and tempo. The team that takes control in those periods usually dictates the game’s direction.
In Friday night’s Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A, Region 1 game between West Point and the Lake Cormorant, each team controlled one of those periods. Lake Cormorant grabbed the first five minutes and controlled the first half to stake themselves to a 21-0 lead. West Point regrouped at halftime and scored 14 points in the first two minutes of the second half. The Green Wave rode the momentum from the outburst, and the running of senior running back Aeris Williams to a thrilling 24-21 come-from-behind win at Hamblin Stadium/McCallister Field.
Lake Cormorant took control of the initial five minutes, scoring on an 83-yard pass from junior quarterback Bailey Walker to senior wide receiver Brandon Wright on the third play. The Gators controlled the first half and kept West Point’s powerful ground game in check. The Gators added an interception return for a touchdown and a 20-yard touchdown pass from Walker to senior wide receiver Ryan Golden to grab a 21-0 halftime lead.
“We just tried to take what the defense gave us,” Lake Cormorant coach Nick Nester said. “They were giving us a lot of man with no help over the top, and we were able to hit some plays and establish some momentum. Our defense did a great job of containing their offense in the first half, but we knew they were going to make a run, and their back (Williams) just took over in the second half.”
West Point coach Chris Chambless said his team played without passion and emotion in the first half and had to regain its intensity in the second half.
“We seemed to be going through the motions in the first half, and the quick score by them just hit us in the gut,” Chambless said. “We didn’t seem to recover from that until halftime. Give Lake Cormorant credit. They took it to us in the first half.”
It didn’t take West Point long to show what its strategy was going to be in the second half. West Point went 60 yards in three plays, as Williams went 53 yards to pay dirt to close the gap to 21-7.
Two plays after the kickoff, West Point senior linebacker Davion Bradshaw intercepted Walker and returned it for a touchdown to close the gap to 21-14 with 10 minutes, 8 seconds to play in the quarter.
“We talked about playing with passion and emotion at halftime, about doing what we do best, and stop killing ourselves with mistakes,” Chambless said. “We got a couple of big plays there to start the second half and we got to feeling good about ourselves again, and just played our style of football in the second half.”
With the gap closed to seven points, the Green Wave defense pressured Walker and the Gators and forced a punt. West Point then went to Williams, who carried the ball seven times in a nine-play, 77-yard drive to tie the game.
“We knew all about him,” Nester said. “He is an SEC commit, so he is obviously talented. They got the momentum and we just couldn’t stop him.”
Chambless agreed.
“Aeris is our guy,” Chambless said. “He is a winner, and he wants the ball in situations like tonight. He stepped up and made some plays for us and our guys responded.”
After fending off a rejuvenated Lake Cormorant offense with a stop on a fake punt, Williams and company took off in search of the winning points. West Point moved 65 yards in nine plays, with Williams carrying the ball seven times in the drive. Lake Cormorant forced the Green Wave to settle for a field goal, and junior kicker Omar Lemus completed the comeback with a 26-yard field goal with 7:32 left.
Lake Cormorant moved into West Point territory on its next possession, but a dropped pass that would have been a touchdown and a big stop by the defense on fourth-and-1 at the West Point 29-yard line allowed Williams and the offense to run out the clock.
“The dropped pass was huge, of course, and then their guy makes a big play on fourth down,” Nester said. “We had a good play called. We just didn’t execute.”
Said Chambless, “They have great receivers and they gave us fits all night. We got a break on the drop and then our guys came up big on fourth down.”
West Point (4-4, 2-2 region) will play host to Saltillo on Friday night.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.