WEST POINT — It had been looming all night.
The West Point High School football team’s defense had broken up six passes and dropped at least three sure-fire interceptions entering the fourth quarter of its season-opening game against Louisville. With West Point clinging to a 14-13 lead, Jeremy Brownlee delivered the first of two back-breaking interceptions that changed the game.
The rangy cornerback turned a tipped ball off a curl route into a 55-yard touchdown, sparking a run of 19 unanswered points that helped the Green Wave earn a 33-13 win.
“That gave the defense more juice,” said Trey Brownlee, who had two pass breakups. “We were ready to ball again and get more picks.”
The Green Wave did that just that on the next drive when Xavier Fair intercepted Pervis Frazier on another curl route and returning the football inside the Louisville 10-yard line. Andre Lane scored two plays later to close out the game.
“We were just mixing zone and man,” West Point coach Chris Chambless said. “We work really hard in the secondary, and coach (Charles) Herron does a great job with those guys.”
The West Point defense clamped down on Louisville’s running game, holding Cam’ron Harrington to 51 yards on 18 carries. But it was the Green Wave’s dominance on the back end that set the tone early. Sophomore Ryan Melton had three pass breakups on deep balls, and Louisville’s fastest and most explosive player, Devon Lee, didn’t catch a pass in the first half. The most consistent offense Louisville could muster was when Frazier escaped the pocket and scrambled for a first down, which he pulled off on two third-down tries.
“That was really it,” West Point linebacker Tae Hampton said. “We were stopping everything else. We were a little nervous at first, but everything came together and we made plays. I don’t think they were ready for us.”
Hampton said he “felt” the turnovers in the passing game were coming, even after Louisville pulled off a 94-yard touchdown pass from Frazier to Ladarius Luckett, exposing one of the few times the Green Wave didn’t have a safety lurking the deep end of the field. The play helped Louisville cut the deficit to 14-13.
“We still had belief in ourselves,” Hampton said. “I don’t think any of us were really affected by (that play).”
West Point forced Frazier into three turnovers and held him to 5 yards on 14 carries.
Chambless said he was concerned with facing a quick-footed quarterback like Frazier because it forces defenders to stay in their rush lanes. Chasing a quarterback also can also wear down a defense, an aspect of their preparation that drew more attention because West Point didn’t open the season last week, like nearly all other teams in the state.
“He’s got great feet and can make you miss,” Chambless said of Frazier. “You just got to break down and tackle. We worked on scramble drills in practice, but live action can be different. You learn a good bit in these early games, and having a test like that teaches you a lot.
“The first games are always gonna have those moments where you find out what you can do, what you can’t do, and see if you can adjust. We made a few mistakes, but our defense kept us in the game to where we could eventually capitalize and break it open.”
West Point’s offense helped set up Louisville’s first score when Marcus Murphy couldn’t handle a high snap in the shotgun and lost the ball inside the West Point 25. Murphy later fumbled in the second quarter after West Point had crossed midfield.
Murphy then hit his stride, scoring on a 48-yard run in the fourth quarter and finishing with 88 yards on eight carries.
Clayton Knight began his West Point career with a touchdown pass and 136 yards passing. Demarrio Edwards had four catches for 105 yards.
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