WEST POINT — After each practice and game, no matter the result, the message is the same for the West Point High football team.
In the huddle following each team activity, usually on the heels of motivational words from coach Chris Chambless, the Green Wave players put their hands in the middle of the huddle, and shout, “State champs” in unison.
Those words mean so much to junior Jeffrey Drake.
“That’s what we are all about, being champions,” Drake said. “It means a lot to me because of how much work we put in. I mean it when I say it.”
That has been evident by Drake’s play this season. A junior defensive back who has spent time at four positions this season, Drake has emerged as one of West Point’s most dependable players on a defense that has improved dramatically from a year ago. With the exception of a 34-3 loss to Class 6A Starkville, the state’s No. 1 team, and a 43-22 setback to Class 5A No. 2 Oxford, West Point is giving up less than 15 points per game and is forcing an average of three turnovers per game. Drake, who lines up at safety much of the time, is a big part of that disruptive defense.
“He’s a very smart kid, and he plays intelligent football,” Chambless said. “He’s a guy we have to have on the field as much as possible. He’s on every special teams unit. He’s in on every snap on defense. He’s one of our most consistent players.
“What you see is what you get with Jeffrey. He shows up every day to work, and he is always trying to get better.”
Of the position changes — Drake has played free safety, strong safety, outside linebacker, and rover, West Point’s hybrid safety-linebacker position — Drake said, “Position doesn’t matter to me. I will play wherever the coaches want me to play. If they tell me I have to go play defensive line, I can do that. I’ll figure it out somehow.”
So far, Drake has done just that in West Point’s defensive backfield. He is third on the team with 32 tackles and has two interceptions, including one against Center Hill last week that helped the Green Wave turn a 42-21 halftime lead into a 56-21 rout.
“Coach asks us to make plays,” Drake said. “For defensive backs, that means going and getting the ball.”
Drake and the rest of the defensive backs will be asked to do that at 7 tonight when West Point makes the three-hour trip to DeSoto County to meet Region 1-5A opponent Lake Cormorant.
“They’re athletic, and they can score,” Chambless said of the Gators, who are 0-7.
Despite that record, Drake is taking each week seriously.
“We can’t just expect to go to somebody else’s town and win just because they are 0-7,” Drake said. “They’ve got players just like we do. We have to keep getting better.”
Getting better is what Drake hopes will lead the team back to where it wants to be. Ultimately, that means competing for a state championship. But Drake admits he also wants West Point to get another shot at division-leading Oxford. Three weeks ago, Oxford won in West Point for the first time in school history and are unbeaten in region play. West Point also is undefeated in region play. With back-to-back blowout victories against Clarksdale and Center Hill, West Point is putting itself in position to compete for the region’s No. 2 playoff spot, a spot that could lead to a postseason showdown against Oxford.
“We have nothing but respect for them,” Drake said. “But I want to keep working, keep getting better so we can have another game with them. We are trying to win a state championship, and right now we would have to go through them. That’s what I want.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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