WEST POINT — Years from now, historians will look back for reasons to explain the dominance of the West Point High School football team’s rushing attack.
Hard work in the weight room and on technique in the offseason always be trademarks of a program that has used a bruising ground game to win eight state titles.
The names and faces have changed, but the mentality has been passed down from coach to coach and from player to player. That’s why it is easy for senior Jameek Price to pinpoint why West Point’s offensive line is so successful every year.
“We all compete against each other,” Price said. “That is all we talk about, that is our only goal, being dominant. If you’re dominant, everything else will fall into place.”
The offensive line of KeAris Smith (left tackle), Jameek Price (left guard), Draylon Rieves (center), Zameek Price (right guard), and Daveion Reives (right tackle) helped West Point control the line of scrimmage and open holes for a rushing attack that had 391 yards on 52 carries (average of 7.5 yards per carry) in a 28-3 victory against Starkville.
For its efforts, the West Point High offensive line is The Dispatch’s Prep Player of the Week.
West Point (3-0) has a bye week this week to prepare for Noxubee County, another longtime rival. The Green Wave already have handled some of the area’s biggest opponents thanks to the bruising efforts of the offensive line. West Point rushed for 239 yards in a 42-14 victory against Columbus. It had 212 yards rushing in a 27-7 victory against Louisville. For the season, West Point has 842 yards on 126 for an average of 6.7 yards per carry.
Seniors Marcus Murphy (391 yards, six touchdowns, 8.0-yard average) and Chris Calvert (289, five, 7.2) lead a one-two punch that is as good as any in the state.
The offensive line can challenge for similar honors even if the group doesn’t have any 300-pounders. At 275 pounds, Smith and Reives weigh the most, but that doesn’t mean the Green Wave aren’t capable of asserting their will up front.
West Point football coach Chris Chambless credits a group that embraces the blue-collar mentality that everything “starts in the trenches.” He said the offensive and defensive lines push each other in practice, which helps each unit stay sharp and physical through the marathon that is the high school season. Chambless said the offensive linemen motivate each other as much mentally as they do physically in the weight room and at practice.
“Each side wants to be known as the best side,” Chambless said. “At the same time, they know that if both side produce, we’re going to win games. Our defensive line, especially early in fall camp, really did a good job. The competition and the level of practice between that group and the offensive line was unbelievable. It works hand in hand. Usually when you have a good ‘O’ line, you’re going to have a pretty good ‘D’ line as well.”
Smith, a transfer from Noxubee County High who is in his second season as a starter, said he didn’t have to make a bid adjustment to get used to the West Point “mind-set.” He said that mentality is predicated on outworking the man in front of you every snap. That might sound difficult, but he said the bond that the five offensive linemen have helps them motivate each other through the grind. Smith said it is “yet to be determined” if this year’s offensive line is better than the 2016 group that helped the program win its eighth state championship.
Jameek Price has played all five positions on the offensive line. He also knows how to play tight end and has filled in at right guard for his brother, Zameek, when he was injured. Price said the offensive linemen take pride in living up to the standard of physical play from past teams. He said offensive line coach Casey Welch pushes the group to work together every day. Price added that the players have keep track of pancake blocks between the right and the left sides of the line to see which side has the upper hand.
“Coach stresses dominating and killing your opponent every play you can,” Jameek Price said. “Our offense is set up with power just about every play, so we have to be like that, and we stress being dominant every day in practice.”
Jameek said pizza often is the reward for the side of the line that comes out on top. Don’t worry about the Green Wave offensive linemen from getting too slow from too much pizza, though, because Price said the players are careful not to indulge. All of the players take that same approach on the field. They know that each snap is a new opportunity to get a pancake block and to get an edge on their linemates, or to open a hole for Murphy, Calvert, quarterback Jake Chambless, or somebody else.
“We do a lot for them,” Price said. “As far as glory, I don’t care really about any of that. I love blocking for them. … Whenever they score, that is as happy as I can be because I know if they score we did our job.”
Rieves makes the offensive line’s ability to dominate sound easy when he says “everyone does their part” to make things work so well, but he said the offensive line goes through a lot of hard work to produce their results. The key, Rieves said, is the offensive linemen go through it together to build a bond that might be the strongest in the state.
“Once you are on the ‘O’ line, you are part of the family,” Rieves said. “We take care of each other out there. It is not easy to get there. You have got to put in the work to get there, but if you hang in there, we will get you somewhere.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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