WEST POINT — The tallest building starts with a strong foundation.
As much as any championship program relies on skill position players to deliver highlight-reel performances, the blue collar work in the trenches often goes overlooked.
That”s not the case with the West Point High School football team.
As evidenced Saturday in a 21-3 victory against Brookhaven in the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A state title game, the Green Wave”s success starts with the offensive line.
The efforts of offensive linemen Romia Wilson, Willie Swift, Lederrius Taylor, Nadarrius Eckers, Johnathon Jones, and Alex Hall and tight ends T.J. Minor and Michael Bush helped the Green Wave (14-1) rush for 325 yards on 61 carries to help the program win its second consecutive state crown, and seventh in its history.
For its performance, the West Point High offensive line is The Dispatch Prep Player of the Week.
“We don”t think it is old-school (football) in West Point,” West Point coach Chris Chambless said of his ground-based attack. “It is in West Point to stay as long as I am here. (The offensive line) knows who to block. They may miss some sometimes, but it is not because they don”t know what to do. They take a lot of pride in being able to knock people off the ball.”
Chambless joked Saturday night that the education of offensive linemen in West Point begins in seventh grade. Offensive line coach Roger Burton said that isn”t far from the truth. He said middle school players learn the Green Wave offense in their first year so they already understand the concepts of the offense and their responsibilities by the time they get to high school.
But knowledge is only part of the battle.
West Point relies on tradition, will, heart, and effort to dominate the line of scrimmage. By now, everyone in the state knows West Point will run the football, but they don”t understand how committed the Green Wave are to that goal until they get hit in the mouth and knocked on their butt.
“Offensive line play is taught with your heart and taught with your effort,” Burton said. “We teach effort. I am relentless on them. I do not let them breathe. Everything has to be perfect at all times. There is no exception to messing up.”
Burton said the Green Wave rely on solid fundamentals, as evidenced by the tightness of their formations. West Point prides itself on not allowing penetration, which helps running backs like Lakenderic Thomas and quarterback Justin Cox pick their holes.
Thomas and Cox had their choice of gaps Saturday. Thomas rushed 35 times for 165 yards, while Cox had 20 carries for 138 yards. The Green Wave ground out touchdown drives of 80, 85, and 77 yards and controlled 29 minutes, 1 second of the clock to deny Brookhaven any chance of a comeback after it committed a fumble at the West Point 2 on its opening drive.
As efficient as West Point is with its technique, Burton said the mind-set of the offensive line is just as crucial.
“The key to it all is the effort,” Burton said. “Everything they do they have to know they are the most important position we got. They are the heartbeat of the team. Our philosophy is we”re never going to let up.”
Offensive coordinator Lee J. Grisham said the offensive line is No. 1 when it comes to formulating a successful offense. He said the tradition of past offensive lines helped this season”s offensive line stay focused. He praised their work ethic and toughness for helping the program win another championship.
“It”s guts and heart,” Grisham said.
Bush, Swift, and Taylor are the only seniors up front, so the Green Wave expect to have plenty of experience on the offensive line in 2011. Swift started at tight end when he began playing football. He soon was moved to left tackle and has been an anchor up front ever since. He admits he knew offensive linemen at West Point were held to a high standard at the school and that he did his best to live up to that mark.
“We take a lot of pride in what we do,” Swift said. “We just have to stay focused and pay attention to who we are blocking and keep our heads in the game.”
Swift and Bush agreed with Burton that heart is a key to the offensive line”s success.
Bush, who has started since he was a sophomore, developed a desire to play football early on, like many of his teammates. He takes pride in knowing he helped the past two teams go down in history. “It is a great feeling to know you lined up game after game and hit folks in the mouth and you”re the reason the quarterback and the running backs are getting yards and scoring,” Bush said. “It is one of the best feelings in the world to know you helped produce that.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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