WEST POINT — There’s something to be said for having the best player on the field.
Look no further than Friday night’s Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A Playoff showdown between Oxford and West Point for proof of that.
Oxford wide receiver D.K. Metcalf, at 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, is ranked by multiple recruiting services as the No. 1 wide receiver nationally in the class of 2016. Against West Point Friday night, he showed why.
Metcalf caught seven passes for 139 yards and hauled in four touchdowns to provide the difference for Oxford, which advanced to its second-straight 5A North State Championship Game with a 42-14 win at West Point’s Hamblin Stadium.
“He’s just a phenomenal player,” said West Point head coach Chris Chambless, who watched his team’s season end at 9-5. “Even when we were right there with him, he’s athletically so gifted that he would go up and make a play. Sometimes he made plays that you don’t expect a high school kid to make, but you just tip your cap to him.”
Metcalf, a junior who is already committed to play at Ole Miss, made the spectacular look routine time and again Friday night, as his seven catches featured leaping catches, diving catches and everything in between. He caught two touchdown passes in each half, which included touchdowns of 29 and 39 yards in the first half before scores from 25 and 18 in the second half.
For the versatile Metcalf, it was all in a day’s work.
“We knew they were going to play man coverage, and when I see that, my eyes get big,” said Metcalf. “That just means it’s going to be on our receivers to make plays. I was able to do that tonight.”
Metcalf was the perfect remedy for an Oxford offense that struggled to string together drives in the first half. Chargers’ quarterback Jack Abraham, who threw five touchdown passes, struggled with his accuracy early, completing just seven of his first 20 passes. But on the night, more than half of Abraham’s completing went to Metcalf, who averaged just shy of 20 yards per reception.
“He’s special,” said Oxford coach Johnny Hill of Metcalf. “He can jump up and catch anything. I thought when we struggled at times, we could go to him and get what we needed.”
Hill was right.
After Oxford was held scoreless in the first quarter, Abraham found Metcalf three times for 69 yards in the second quarter, with two of those resulting in touchdowns. The duo put the Chargers on the scoreboard with a 29-yard connection two minutes into the second quarter, then gave the Chargers the lead with a 39-yard strike less than four minutes later.
Abraham finished with 304 passing yards and five touchdowns. He also threw five touchdown passes in Oxford’s 43-22 regular season win at West Point. But the night – and most of the highlights – belonged to Metcalf.
“Jalen (Lee) did an outstanding job staying with him,” said Chambless. “But when a guy is playing at that level, there’s not much you can do. I thought we put a lot of pressure on the quarterback in the first half and that helped, but they adjusted and we couldn’t get as much pressure in the second half.”
For a half, West Point countered with a strong passing game of its own. Senior quarterback Dason Thomas and wide receiver Steffon Moore hooked up for three receptions in the first half with a pair of touchdowns. On the Green Wave’s initial drive of the game, Thomas opened the scoring by finding Moore from 35 yards away, giving West Point a brief 7-0 lead.
After a pair of Metcalf touchdown catches gave Oxford a 14-7 lead midway through the second quarter, Thomas found Moore again, this time for a 64-yard touchdown. Once kicker Omar Lemus added the extra point, the game was tied at 14-14 just four minutes before the half.
West Point would not score again, however, and Metcalf keyed a 28-0 finish for the Chargers.
“We knew they were going to test our manhood by playing man-to-man coverage,” said Metcalf. “I had to come through for my team.”
Oxford, now 12-1, will play Pearl for the Class 5A North Half Championship.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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