WEST POINT — Freddie Reed and Ed Brown wanted to make a statement.
After 24 minutes, the West Point High School football team’s defense was less than satisfied with its effort Friday night against Lake Cormorant.
A would-be interception that went through the hands of Johnathan Patterson for a touchdown in the third quarter didn’t make the Green Wave feel any better.
That’s when Reed, Brown, and the defense took over.
Buoyed by a key sack by Brown, West Point limited Lake Cormorant to 16 yards on its final two drives to help secure a 23-17 victory in the Class 5A, Region 1 opener for both teams at McCallister Field.
“We just had to do what we had to do,” said Brown, a senior defensive lineman. “We came out in the second half and the offense did its thing and it was a team effort.”
Brown and Reed said the coaches gave a spirited halftime discussion that helped the defense re-focus. Unable to generate much pressure to disrupt quarterback Brett Thompson, Reed and Brown said West Point regrouped on defense and made it its mission to take control.
Antonio Dent and Reed, with some help from Brown, had sacks in the third quarter as the Green Wave (3-2, 1-0 region) started to assert itself. But a personal foul face mask penalty and an offsides penalty on third-and-2 helped the Gators (3-2, 0-1) keep the drive alive. The sack by Reed and Brown set up a third-and-31 from the West Point 35. Thompson appeared to have cost his team a scoring chance when he lofted a pass to the right corner intended for Ryan Golden. Patterson went up for the ball in the end zone, only to have it go through his hands into the waiting arms of Golden. The extra point tied the game with 2 minutes, 19 seconds left in the quarter.
From there, though, West Point’s defense answered the call.
“We just put our foot down,” said Reed, a senior defensive tackle. “We told each other at halftime that we were going to come out and dominate the second half. That was a key because the offense wasn’t moving the ball and they were making turnovers, so we made up our mind that we had to come out and go hard.”
Reed admitted the Green Wave defense didn’t play to its potential. He said the defense tried its best to make up for that in the second half.
West Point coach Chris Chambless said the defense responded to the speech it received at halftime.
“They’re a big-play offense, and w had to keep them from getting big plays,” West Point coach Chris Chambless said. “Coach (Kendall) Pickens and his staff have done a great job with the defense this year. We have a lot of veterans over there. They played really well. I am proud of them.
“They settled in a little bit and raised the intensity a little bit and had a good, fiery speed, which fired them up to come out. We were playing not to give up a big play rather than just doing our thing and playing hard. The second hard was a lot better.”
Reed said this year’s defense is similar in strength and speed to last year’s defense. He said the key this season will be focus and consistent effort.
Brown agreed, saying the Green Wave need to stay together to be at their best, particularly on defense.
“The defensive line got more pressure on the quarterback,” Brown said. “We should have had it in the first half, but we just weren’t going in the first half. We are definitely going to make it better in the next game.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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