Brothers find a way to get the job done.
Chris Chambless likely will admit the West Point High School football team played a first half to forget Friday night in the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 5A North State title game at McCallister Field at Hamblin Stadium.
There usually is a false sense of security when you have defeated a team in the regular season. That confidence gets even bigger when the margin is as large as the 39-17 cushion West Point enjoyed in its victory against Region 1 rival Lake Cormorant on Oct. 14.
In the rematch Friday,the Green Wave weren’t overconfident, but they just didn’t look or sound the same. There wasn’t a lot of emotion on the West Point sideline and the Green Wave were stuck in one of those first halves where little goes right. As a result, an interception return by Rasson Carr was the only points the Green Wave scored in a first half that ended with the teams tied at 7.
The second half was all West Point.
The Green Wave didn’t come out screaming and hollering. They didn’t need to. All they needed to do was to come out and play West Point football.
Anyone who has watched the Green Wave over the years knows the formula: Dominating play up front on offense plus dominating play on defense equals victory. West Point followed that plan to the letter in the second half. The trigger was a 44-yard pass from Marcus Murphy to Everitt Cunningham that opened the flood gates for 33 unanswered points.
It was fitting that Cunningham, a senior defensive end, caught the go-ahead score. Cunningham parlayed the confidence gained from the touchdown to get two sacks and a pass deflection as part of a stellar defensive effort in the second half that sent West Point (13-1) to the state title game.
It has been six years since West Point last played for a state championship. In that time, Oxford proved to be just a little better. But the Green Wave used losses to the Chargers in 2014 and 2015 to strengthen their resolve. All of the players talked Friday night about how losses to Oxford in the regular season and in the playoffs drove them to work harder in the offseason and in the weight room so they could come back this season and end that frustration.
West Point showed Friday night everyone was on the same page. Whether it was Murphy running the show as a runner or a thrower, quarterback Clayton Knight running the show as a thrower and a runner, or running backs Chris Calvert or Andre Lane dancing into gaps opened by the offensive line, the Green Wave fed off of each player’s success.
The blitzing finish means West Point (13-1) will have a chance to win the program’s eighth state title at 7 p.m. Saturday when it faces South State champion Laurel (13-1) at Mississippi State’s Davis Wade Stadium.
Laurel last won a state title in 2014, when it defeated Oxford 29-26.
In 1988, West Point beat Laurel 3-0 in overtime to win the Class 4A State title. The Green Wave have won four more titles since that game largely by following the same formula. The coaches have changed, but Chambless has led the program with a steady hand since 2006. His no-nonsense demeanor is perfect for a blue-collar team that is seldom flashy but always tenacious.
You only had to watch Chambless during the North State title game to know he was setting the tone for his players. Almost transfixed on the action at times, Chambless was most emotional when he congratulated junior wide receiver Jason Brownlee on a block on a running play in front of the West Point sideline. The play didn’t result in a touchdown, but it showed that the Green Wave are at their best when they are all working together. The plays often don’t catch your eye like Brownlee’s block because, as assistant coach Casey Welch said after the game, the Green Wave always try to focus on playing their game, which means staying on blocks and driving defenders or offensive players backward.
It took West Point 24 minutes to get on the same page Friday. Once they did, though, 22 brothers worked together to deliver a memorable performance. The West Point players hope it is one they can build on to add their name to an impressive list that features countless brothers who have earned the distinction of being state champions.
Adam Minichino is sports editor of The Dispatch. You can reach him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ctsportseditor.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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