WEST POINT — Few know the history of West Point High School football better than current head coach Chris Chambless, given his now 13 seasons at the helm after a stint as its defensive coordinator. He knows what West Point has been for years, and is thus best qualified to speak to how different it is now.
For several years now, the brutally physical West Point offense has been adding some nuance to its game. It has more of that now than ever.
“The old days here in West Point, you’d see five or six formations. Now you’re going to see triple that, quadruple that,” Chambless said. “It’s helped us out, it’s help the kids out and put them in a position to be successful.”
That offense has bowled over opponents with an average of 34.9 points per game, 39 points per game in the playoffs, on the way to the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 5A championship game. That offense can make it three straight titles for the Green Wave with a win over West Jones (12-2) 7 p.m. Saturday at M.M. Roberts Stadium on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.
The offense is where it is because it has so many options.
In the previous three years, the Green Wave (13-1) have had obvious feature ball carriers for its ground-and-pound offense. Last year it was Marcus Murphy and Chris Calvert, combining for 67 percent of the team’s total rushing yardage; the year before it was Murphy and Lane combining for 70.3 percent and in 2015 it was Murphy and Calvert once more combining for 71.9 percent.
This year, no two backs account for more than 52 percent of the 3,854 yards. Junior Brandon Harris is the only 1,000-yard back with 1,105, but fellow junior Dantariyus Cannon is not far behind with 875. Senior Kameron Martin has 750 but boasts 16 touchdowns, second only to Harris’ 18. West Point also has 467 yards out of senior Jaylun Eggerson and junior Timothy Mays.
“Last year’s backs, it was Marcus and Chris. This time, we have everybody with fresh legs,” Harris said. “It’s a powerful offense trying to get another ring.”
The usage of each back is far from random.
“You’re not going to see a bellcow from us, you’re going to see guys that do things different from another guy in different situations,” Chambless said. “They all support each other, they all pull for each other. (Assistant coaches Brett) Morgan and (Alex) Williams, the running backs coach, they do a real good job because it confuses me sometimes. There’s so many personnel (packages) and so many formations we use, but there’s a method to the madness and the kids have picked up on it. They’ve been tremendous.”
The result has left each back with of the previously mentioned five backs with at least five carries per game and all but one of them averaging over 6 yards per carry. The further one digs into West Point’s use of so many ball carrying weapons, the more it becomes clear it has enough playmakers to spread the ball like it rarely has before.
The same can be said of the other mode of offense, the one West Point rarely dabbled in before this season: passing.
Only once in the last three years has the Green Wave attempted more than 150 passes in a season, but West Point quarterback Jake Chambless already has 149 going into his final game. His 1,072 yards and 11 touchdowns, like the bevy of running backs behind him, add an element to the West Point offense that it has not always had.
Yet, the Green Wave are far from running an Air Raid. Their 544 rushing attempts compared to 162 pass attempts prove that. Even in passing a little more than usual, it prioritizes the same things.
“It’s pretty much the same schedule as it was last year and my sophomore year, but we spend a lot more time on our routes,” Jake Chambless said. “We want to perfect our routes because being a run team, we have to perfect those so when we throw it, we make it count.”
The best part of that wide array of playmakers is most of them will be back for 2019, what could be West Point’s bid at four-straight championships. Of the five running backs leading the pack, three are juniors, including leading rushers Harris and Cannon; three of West Point’s top four pass catchers are also juniors.
The optimism for the future can wait for a week. For now, all their efforts are concentrated on using this talent to create a championship for the ones that won’t get another chance.
“We don’t want to be the class that doesn’t win a championship,” Martin said.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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