WEST POINT — West Point High School senior teammates Tyler Rupert and Ryan Melton have been planning this moment for some time.
“As seniors, you want to go out on top,” Melton said. “We really haven’t accomplished anything yet. Anything other than a state championship is a disappointment at West Point. All year, we have just tried to stay humble and continued to work hard.
“For the seniors, this is our last game, so this is important to us. You don’t want to see the streak come to an end.”
West Point (13-1) will play for its third-straight Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 5A State championship at 7 p.m. Saturday when it takes on West Jones (12-2) at M.M. Roberts Stadium on the campus of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.
West Point is the first school to play for a state championship in Jackson, Starkville, Oxford, and Hattiesburg.
“You always want to win your last high school game,” Rupert said. “As soon as (last season’s state championship game against Hattiesburg) ended, we talked about this season. The seniors have done a great job of leading the team. It was on us to make sure the tradition was upheld. We took pride in that.”
West Point won its first two games before a loss at Starkville. The Green Wave responded with 11-straight wins. In the playoffs, West Point routed Canton (55-27) and Olive Branch (35-0) and survived a scare against Lafayette (27-20).
In the regular season, West Point recorded a one-point win at Olive Branch and a one-point victory against Lafayette at home.
“It all sunk in after the Olive Branch game (in the playoffs),” Melton said. “After we dominated them, we knew we would be playing for the championship. It’s kind of surreal. During the season, you just focus on that’s week opponent.
“We had some scares, but that just us go harder. We all thought we were good enough to do this. After the win over Olive Branch, we knew we were headed to the championship.”
Fellow senior Jaylon Webb said the team’s turning point was the loss to Starkville. That loss snapped a three-season, 30-game winning streak.
“After that, we just knew we had to focus on the little things,” Webb said. “If you have all of the talent in the world it doesn’t matter if you can’t do the little things right. We just had to pay more attention in practice, to everything we do. It’s a championship standard.”
West Point has lived up to its championship standard on defense. The Green Wave are allowing 12 1/2 points per game. West Point has 15 interceptions, eight fumble recoveries, and 29 1/2 sacks.
“It’s just a brotherhood,” Rupert said. “We take pride in our defense. West Point has always been known for championship defense. It’s our job to continue that.”
West Point also benefitted from three-straight home games in the postseason thanks to finishing first in Region 1.
“Turnovers are the biggest thing to us,” Webb said. “If we get a big takeaway like that, it gets the whole crowd energized. It’s a fun place to play when the crowd is into the game and the sidelines are pumped up. Our offense has been good this year. It’s up to us to make sure they get more chances with the football.”
To reach its first state title game, West Jones upset No. 1 Hattiesburg, before beating Picayune for the South State championship.
“We are playing for our 10th title and this would be their first,” Melton said. “I think that’s a huge advantage for us. (West Jones is) going to be happy to be there. We won’t be like that. We want to win another title.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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