It was classic ball-control offense for West Point, but Clarksdale can play that game, too.
But just not quite as well as West Point.
West Point (10-3, 4-1) defeated Clarksdale, (9-4, 5-0) in the third round of the MHSAA 5A state playoffs, 21-14, to claim the North Half Championship in Clarksdale Friday night.
It was a running game for both teams with West Point rushing for 233 yards against 131 for Clarksdale.
“It’s what we do,” said West Point coach Chris Chambless. “We played one of the best defenses we’ve seen all season tonight. I was proud of every yard we got.
“It was a good game, Clarksdale has a good team and we got after it.”
Clarksdale beat West Point 27-21 earlier this season, but both teams have gotten bigger and stronger and hungry for a state championship.
“The difference tonight was resilience,” said Chambless. “Our guys have shown a lot of grit this year. We needed that tonight.”
West Point’s strategy appeared simple: Open the holes between the tackles and let the back run.
West Point quarterback Kahen Daniels, a University of Florida commit, had 138 yards on 26 carries, with most of them being 3- and 4-yard plunges right up the middle. Daniels scored two of West Point’s three touchdowns on runs of 6- and 44-yards. His 44-yard run in the fourth quarter to seal the game saw him run inside the right tackle, dodge the linebacker and race for the end zone.
West Point got the opening kickoff and drove to the Clarksdale 42, where the Wildcats’ big defensive line stopped them and forced a punt.
Clarksdale’s first possession covered 80 yards in 11 plays, including a fourth-and-one at the five and ended in a TD. Wildcat Kebian Gilmore ran up the middle from the two for the score and the PAT was good with 1:03 to play in the first.
West Point came back midway in the second frame with a nine-play, 74-yard drive. Daniels ran right and covered six yards for the score. The PAT was no good.
Clarksdale carried a 7-6 edge into the halftime locker room.
West Point took the lead in the third, driving 86-yards on 11 plays with Daniels breaking off that 44-yard dash. The two-point conversion was good and West Point led 14-7 with 2:45 to go in the third.
But Clarksdale came back two plays later with sophomore Tommie Magsby making the right corner and racing 51 yards for the score. The Wildcat PAT was good and the game was tied 14-14.
The Green Wave didn’t change a thing and put together a 14-play drive covering 53-yards to win it. Shun Crawford scored from the one-yard line. The PAT by Jack Carter Taylor was good.
Clarksdale coach Curtis Kemp said the Wildcats never gave up and he was proud to see his team make it to the playoffs in his first season as coach.
“They played hard and gave it all they had,” said Kemp. “It hurt because they worked so hard to get here. But we’ve set the bar and will be back next year, West Point is in our district after realignment and we’ll see them again.”
West Point will play the Laurel Golden Tornadoes (7-6, 4-1) in the MHSAA 5A State Championship at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on the campus of the University of Mississippi.
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