West Point High School senior Jeffrey Drake knows the performance level of his football team has been below championship standards the last couple of seasons.
That does not mean each new season does not begin with the same goal.
“Winning state championships is what it is all about,” Drake, a senior defensive back, said. “If you don’t play for a state championship then the season simply doesn’t measure up around here.
“There are high standards and high expectations. You are used to it. That is why we play the game around here.”
West Point (2-1) and Noxubee County (2-2) meet at 7 p.m. Friday night in Macon. It is a showdown between two of the area’s best programs over the past 10 seasons.
“Over these years, I think we have several (rivals),” Noxubee County coach Tyrone Shorter said. “To me, West Point is bigger…I don’t know why it is bigger, but it seems like every year we have a bigger crowd (for that game).”
Shorter has guided Noxubee County to two Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 4A state championships in the last three season. He was an assistant to Louisville head coach M.C. Miller when the Tigers won the school’s first football title in 2008.
Chris Chambless took West Point to a Class 4A state championship in 2005 and followed that up with 5A titles in 2009 and 2010.
“There is a lot of tradition there,” said Mississippi State red-shirt freshman Aeris Williams, who played at West Point from 2011 to 2013. “You grow up wanting to play on that field. You grow up wanting to play for state championships. We lost (in the North State championship game) to Starkville in 2012 and was the hardest loss of my life.”
After that dramatic overtime loss to the eventual state champion Yellow Jackets, West Point took a brief step backward with back-to-back five-loss seasons. Still, West Point finished 7-5 in 2013 and 9-5 in 2014, while remaining competitive against elite teams.
“There is always an incredible work ethic here,” Chambless said. “We have been here long enough that the junior high program is well established. These kids are brought up doing things the right way, they want them to be done. The community is very passionate about their football. We have dealt with a lot of injuries the last couple of seasons. However, that does not change the expectations around here. The fans still expect us to roll out 22 players who can win games.”
Shorter has seen a similar belief system born inside the Tigers’ camp. Noxubee County won all 16 games it played in 2012. After slipping back to a 9-4 finish in 2013, Noxubee County righted the ship and rode a still young team to a 13-2 overall record and the Class 4A state championship last season. Overall, the Tigers have won 10 or more games in each season since 2007 except for 2013.
Noxubee County has loaded up its non-region schedule on a consistent basis. Shorter feels like his team being challenged early in the season helps it grow. The current two-game losing streak may be a byproduct of the schedule. After beating Starkville and Columbus, Noxubee County has been brought back down to earth with back-to-back losses to Texas Class 5A power Aledo and Class 6A power Meridian.
With sophomores up and down the West Point roster, one would think Chambless would back down from the program’s usual lofty expectations. Instead, the opposite has happened.
“The kids come here to play for championships,” Chambless said. “With a young team, you have to keep the emotions in check. You have to make sure they don’t get too high or too low. At the same time, you are not going to back down from what our program is all about. You want the kids to expect to play at a high level.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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