WEST POINT — The stance screamed “whew.”
With hands on hips and arms angled to form 90-degree angles, Casey Welch could finally exhale.
The West Point High School co-offensive coordinator already had played prognosticator when he called “touchdown” on Marcus Murphy’s pass before Everitt Cunningham rambled 44 yards for the score.
Now, Welch wanted to survey the fruits of the Green Wave’s labor. Thanks to 33 unanswered points in the second half, he and West Point could safely exhale as the final moments of a 40-7 victory against Lake Cormorant in the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 5A State title game ticked down.
“We respect every opponent we play, but we approach every game (with the mentality) it is about us,” Welch said. “We feel confident in our guys that if we just execute what we’ve asked them to do and play with the type of intensity it takes to play West Point football, we like our chances in any game.”
Welch said the Green Wave had trouble doing that in a first half in which it was difficult to get any momentum. It also didn’t help that West Point had a high snap lead to a fumble that stalled one drive and a fumbled punt wipe out another one. The Green Wave started two other drives at their 10- and 12-yard lines.
But West Point relied on balance and confidence to find its footing. It seemed fitting that a team with co-offensive coordinators used the efforts of six playmakers and a talented offensive line to pave the way for a return trip to the state title game that has been six years in the making.
Murphy, who has given a verbal commitment to play football at Mississippi State, orchestrated the go-ahead score in the third quarter when he hooked up with Cunningham.
Senior Clayton Knight, a transfer from Saltillo High who has split time at quarterback with Murphy, helped set up the second score of the second half when he hit Jason Brownlee on a 41-yard pass play. That connection set up a 5-yard scoring run by Murphy.
Touchdown runs by senior Chris Calvert, Knight, and senior Andre Lane followed in a blitzing finish that helped West Point (13-1) secure a title date against South State champion Laurel (13-1) at 7 p.m. Saturday at Mississippi State’s Davis Wade Stadium.
“This is 100 percent on the kids,” Welch said. “They just decided they wanted to win and nobody was stopping them.”
Welch credited West Point coach Chris Chambless and co-offensive coordinator Brett Morgan for rallying the players after a lackluster first half that saw the Green Wave commit a costly turnover and hurt themselves with mistakes.
Despite struggling against an opponent it had beaten 39-17 in the regular season, Welch said West Point didn’t make any adjustments and relied on execution.
“It was just a confidence thing,” Welch said. “Jason came up with a huge play down here at the goal line. Once they were confident in what they were doing, they just decided to flip the switch.”
West Point clicked with deadly efficiency once it started to roll. The performance Friday was different yet similar to the season-high 348-yard rushing effort the Green Wave used Oct. 14 to beat the Gators in a Region 1 game.
The Green Wave didn’t come close to that total in the rematch (28 carries, 204 yards), but their balanced attack (179 yards passing) showcased a variety of weapons that has positioned the program for its eighth state title, and first since 2010.
Welch admitted having two offensive coordinators might not work for every team, but he credited Morgan, who joined the coaching staff in 2007, for putting a lot of trust in him in the running game. He said Morgan, who calls the plays, asks his opinions about what runs the Green Wave should use against certain fronts.
The ability to Welch and Morgan to work together came through on the go-ahead score. A play earlier, Murphy hit Nate Montgomery on a 27-yard pass play. Welch said he saw Lake Cormorant’s linebackers and safeties shoot up hard on the play, so he called up to Morgan in the press box to tell him Cunningham, a senior defensive end, was wide open.
“He said, ‘I saw the same exact thing. We are coming right back to it,’ ” said Welch, who has coached at West Point High since 2006. “It comes down to Everitt running the right route. It comes down to Marcus throwing the ball. It is our kids executing the game plan. When they do that, we like our chances.”
Chambless, who took over the program in 2006, likes his chances with the coaching staff he has assembled. Many of the coaches have been with him for years. Some, like Roger Burton, have taken other coaching jobs and returned to the school.
Throughout the years, though, the mentality of West Point hasn’t changed, even after former offensive coordinator Lee J. Grisham left to take a job at Starkville High. West Point merely reloaded and put the offense in the hands of Morgan and Welch.
“They do a great job together, as does the whole staff,” Chambless said.
Welch said his relationship with Morgan works so well because they have been friends for a long time and they have each other’s back no matter what the situation
“It just works perfect for us,” Welch said.
The Green Wave are going to play physical football and line up and dare you to try to stop them. The addition of Knight has given them a perfect foil for Murphy, an athletic tailback with sprinter’s speed. It also helps to have a healthy Calvert, who missed most of the season after suffering a concussion in a game against Columbus, and Lane at running back to provide different looks. Junior Jason Brownlee gives the Green Wave an athletic threat at receiver who can go long or high to keep defenses honest.
As well as the coaches work well together, the players might do it even better.
“We are brothers,” Calvert said. “Whatever helps the team. It doesn’t matter if you’re getting touches or no touches. You want to win, and to win you have to work together.”
Calvert said that mind-set has fueled the Green Wave, especially in victories against Oxford in the regular season and last week in a 41-0 win in the North State semifinals. That game was played in a steady rain in Oxford, which made handling the football an issue. West Point didn’t miss a beat, as it kept the football on the ground to shut out a rival that ended its last two playoff runs a little too early.
“It is a real hard offense to handle,” Calvert said. “We have a quarterback who can run and a quarterback who can throw and run. We have a lot of versatile backs. Then we have wide receivers who are good who can block and go up and get the ball, like Jason Brownlee and Mario (Edwards). We also have Andre Lane who can tote the ball, too, so we have a lot of weapons.”
Welch said the Green Wave have a plan for Murphy and a plan for Knight. He said the coaches then go “by feel” to see what defenses give them to determine which plan will work the best. He said there have been times this season when opponents have used two different defenses to try to stop Murphy and Knight.
Welch said it doesn’t matter if Murphy or Knight are leading the way, or if Cunningham, Calvert, or Lane are scoring. He said the Green Wave work so well because they all know the way to achieve the best results is to work together.
“I can’t say enough about these kids,” Welch said. “They could have easily rolled over when it was 7-7, but they took it as a challenge and met it head on. I am so proud of these kids. It is a direct reflection of our community, our head coach, that when our backs are up against the wall they are going to come out swinging. That is exactly what they did tonight.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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