WEST POINT — The vibe around West Point football this season has been far from the norm as for the first time in over a decade, the Green Wave have started out a season 0-2.
West Point caught the brunt of a big-time beatdown from Starkville last Friday as the Yellow Jackets dominated in the second half, winning by 31 points.
Now, the Green Wave return home this Friday to play another tough opponent and local rival in Noxubee County.
The Tigers have dominated competition early on, entering this matchup with a 2-0 record and a plus-70 point differential on the season. They look to make it a 3-0 start while West Point is still searching for that first win of the 2022 season.
“We’re trying to treat it as any other week, but we know West Point is one of the top programs in the state,” Noxubee County head coach Teddy Young said. “The players have been up. The coaches have been up. To beat them in West Point, we have to play our best game.”
Noxubee County has put together two straight impressive performances to begin the season against Philadelphia and Amanda Elzy.
However, their toughest test of the season by far lies ahead of them in the Green Wave, a program looking for revenge for how its first two games of the season have transpired.
Returning home in front of what’s expected to be an energetic and electric home crowd gives West Point the immediate advantage heading in, but even the Green Wave know the only way they can capitalize on that is by playing their game.
“We’re just trying to get better, trying to improve in all aspects of the game,” West Point head coach Chris Chambless said. “… It’s always a physical game, we know that. We know we’re going to get their best shot, but we’re just going to play our brand of football.”
That brand of football will start and end on the ground with Kahnen Daniels and Keshawn Henley as last week, the two combined for nearly 180 rushing yards for the Green Wave.
They really got things going in the first half, where West Point scored all of its 13 points in the game, and it’s a major sticking point for success in this game.
If the Green Wave can establish the run early and often, it could be a long night for Noxubee County.
“We had miscommunication, missed blocks, bad ball handling,” Daniels said. “We need to work on better ball security, but we’re taking every game one at a time. We’re looking toward this game, learning from the last game and keeping the same mindset we always do.”
Just as West Point is going to throw its best shots at Noxubee County, the Tigers are going to do the same back. With that 2-0 record under their belts, the Tigers are coming in with a newfound sense of confidence and swagger.
This is a team that’s already proven itself on both sides of the ball in a big way, scoring 40 or more points in both games this season and not allowing more than 15 points in a game.
As was mentioned earlier with West Point’s running game, Young talked about how the game is going to be won at the offensive and defensive lines and even more so, the defense is going to need to step up and make plays.
With senior leaders in a number of positions on defense, like safety Shunterrion Sherrod, Noxubee County has shown what it’s capable of.
“We just have to lock in and be ready,” Sherrod said. “We know who we’re going up against. We know how great a team they are, so we just have to lock in and come with it.”
If the last two meetings between these schools have any say for what happens on Friday, expect a shootout and some extra pep in the step of Noxubee County, a program looking to snap a nine-game losing streak against West Point.
The 53rd meeting between these two schools on Friday has all the makings of a future classic.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
Join the Discussion