JACKSON — West Point football coach Chris Chambless knows it could have been “the season that never was.”
If the Green Wave didn’t take the COVID-19 pandemic seriously, Chambless knew, there were no guarantees they would be able to complete — or even start — a 2020 season in which they would be going for their fifth straight MHSAA Class 5A championship.
But as long as they had a shot, West Point would be ready.
“We knew that if all possible — if there was a chance we’d get to play — we would still play,” Chambless said.
Play, West Point did — the Green Wave reached the title game for the fifth straight season. But their off-the-field battle with the virus proved nearly as important in getting there.
“The bottom line is, everybody is so self-aware and conscious about it,” Chambless said. “That helps. The parents, the administrators, the teachers, coaches — we’re all looking out for each other.”
West Point took the necessary precautions and escaped unscathed by COVID-19 in a season when so many others couldn’t. Among area teams, New Hope, Noxubee County and Oak Hill Academy had to cancel games because of issues with the virus; nearly every school had at least one game on its schedule affected.
But not the Green Wave, who played the maximum number of games allowed by their 10-game regular-season schedule — 14 games in 14 weeks.
Teams like Shannon, Lafayette and Tupelo couldn’t say the same. All three schools had to forfeit playoff games because of the pandemic, ending their seasons before they got a say on the field. Chambless knows West Point was lucky to avoid a similar fate.
“It would have been devastating just like it was for those guys,” he said.
To avoid getting to that point, the Green Wave followed the “very exhaustive” precautions in place within the West Point Consolidated School District: Routine hand sanitizing. Mask-wearing. Social distancing in team meetings and in practice as much as possible. Temperature checks and COVID-19 screenings every day.
“It’s completely changed the way we do things around here, but we’re able to still keep results to get to where we want to get to,” Chambless said.
The latter precautions proved an effective safeguard, as West Point sent players home from practice several times to err on the side of caution. Chambless knows it’s not always possible to have everyone at practice and would rather have a slightly lower attendance there than be missing multiple players at games because of contact tracing.
“It’s a huge part of it,” Chambless said. “With all your players, you don’t want to go play unless you’ve got them all.”
Ensuring that means making sure each Green Wave player follows the same protocol as to not bring the virus into the West Point clubhouse. Chambless and his staff tell their players to adhere at home to the same rules that apply to them at practice and games: avoid large crowds and wear masks.
West Point’s players — all of them — listened, Chambless said.
“It’s either buy in or don’t play,” he said. “Everybody bought in completely.”
Still, the worries persist. West Point had a scare over the summer when multiple players showed symptoms similar to COVID-19; they ultimately tested negative, but the Green Wave couldn’t let its guard down.
“You’re always concerned about an outbreak,” Chambless said Tuesday. “I’m concerned this week about an outbreak.”
But Friday after Friday, that feared outbreak never came. Chambless admitted West Point “dodged some bullets” — luck was a factor, too — but they made it through.
And each time they take the field, the Green Wave are thankful they’ve been able to do so.
“I think it’s just opened the kids’ and coaches’ eyes to be grateful that we are getting to play,” Chambless said.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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