OXFORD — Chris Calvert tried to fight back a smile.
The West Point High School running back just left a huddle with his teammates and was immediately pulled to the side for an interview. With his helmet in hand and a cold wind blowing, Calvert’s attempt not to smile didn’t last long. He received a big hug from offensive coordinator Brett Morgan that made him smile even bigger.
Calvert rushed for 115 yards and three touchdowns in his first game back since Sept. 9 to help West Point beat Oxford 41-0 Friday night in the second round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 5A playoffs at Bobby Holcombe Field.
“It feels good,” said Calvert, a junior. “To be back with my brothers, there’s no greater feeling than being with them. They pushed me, and ever since I’ve been out, they’ve been ready for me to come back. They pushed me to get better. My coaches, they stayed with me. All I can say is thanks to my coaches and my teammates.”
West Point (12-1) will play host to Lake Cormorant, which beat Clarksdale 24-13, this Friday in the MHSAA Class 5A North Half State championship game.
West Point beat Lake Cormorant 39-17 on Oct. 14 at Lake Cormorant.
Calvert played in West Point’s first three games before suffering a concussion in a 17-13 victory against Columbus on Sept. 9. He remembers carrying the ball, being hit by three defenders, and being picked up and thrown to the ground on his head. He missed 10 games, including a 34-20 victory against New Hope on Senior Night on Oct. 28 and a 41-7 win against Homes County Central last week in the first round of the playoffs.
“It was hard,” Calvert said. “I knew I was going to come back, but they told me no. That’s a hard feeling.”
West Point quarterback/running back Marcus Murphy said Calvert came to work every day at practice although he couldn’t participate in the contact part of practice.
“He stayed positive and he stayed humble,” Murphy said. “He waited for the doctor to clear him. I kept him moving.
“We expect it out of him because he had a really big year last year. For him to be sitting out so long and to come back and have a great game like he did, I salute him. That’s my brother.”
In three games, Calvert had 102 yards on 21 carries. He had a touchdown in a 33-13 victory against Louisville in the season opener on Aug. 26. He had 10 carries for 62 yards in a 28-6 loss to Starkville on Sept. 2. As a sophomore Calvert had 1,490 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Calvert was cleared to play Thursday. When Murphy heard the news, he said it brought tears to his eyes because they have played together since the seventh grade. Murphy said it didn’t feel right not having his “brother” by his side.
“It’s been rough on my part because I had to go from quarterback to running back and at least carrying the ball 30 times a game,” Murphy said. “Now we can split it 10/10/10 with me, Andre (Lane) and Chris. Now we’ve got a big advantage over everybody.”
Calvert’s first carry was a 55-yard touchdown that gave Green Wave a 14-0 lead with 40 seconds remaining in the first quarter. He scored a 22-yard touchdown in the second quarter to make it 27-0 at halftime.
In the fourth quarter, a wall of defenders met Calvert after he took the handoff from Murphy and tried to run in between the tackles. He bounced off them and was shot back 5 yards before he spun to his right and sprinted down the sideline for a 12-yard touchdown. West Point coach Chris Chambless said he has seen Calvert do that in practice.
Chambless said they were patient with Calvert and didn’t want to rush him back. He said Calvert kept up with his conditioning, stayed in shape, and did all of the little things the coaching staff asked of him.
“He gets frustrated at times, but he had a great support group from his teammates,” Chambless said. “They kept him pumped up and in the mind-frame he would be coming back, and he did. He was so pumped up and ready to go.”
Kickoff was delayed 52 minutes by lightning, forcing both teams to leave the field after going through pregame warmups.
Murphy gave West Point a 7-0 lead on a 77-yard touchdown on West Point’s first play from scrimmage. Oxford (8-5) made it to its 46-yard line on its opening drive but had to punt.
Murphy scored a 54-yard touchdown in the third quarter and had a game-high 180 yards on 15 carries. Lane had 35 yards on eight carries. Senior defensive lineman C.J. Melton had a 48-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the second quarter.
The Green Wave didn’t attempt a pass, something Chambless has never seen as a coach. He said he didn’t play quarterback Clayton Knight a lot because of the weather and the success the Green Wave had running the ball. With Murphy and Calvert in the backfield, Chambless is excited about the potential of his offense.
“We’re only going to get better,” Chambless said. “(Calvert) will get some more reps in practice. We haven’t touched him in practice. It’s been non-contact. The way we practice, we practice with contact every day and you couldn’t tell it.”
Calvert still might be smiling when he hits the practice fields next week because he knows he will get a chance to help the Green Wave earn a date to play for a state title.
“It will be so much better. It’s going to be a week that will get me better and get me prepared for the upcoming big game,” Calvert said.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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