Payday finally came Friday for the New Hope High School football team.

After a season filled with pieces of games and stretches of solid play, New Hope ended a four-game losing streak with a 35-33 victory at Lewisburg. The win eased some of the sting from a season that has seen New Hope (2-7, 1-4 Class 5A, Region 1) battle to overcome its lack of experience and to find consistency.

“You go to work every day and eventually you want somebody to pay you,” New Hope coach Kris Pickle said. “It is the same thing in football. You go to work every day and you eventually want a payday. As we always say, you work every day and payday is on Friday. If you don’t get paid, it is hard to go to work every day.”

Pickle hopes the confidence New Hope gained from that effort will carry over to 7 p.m. Friday when his team plays host to West Point (7-2, 4-1) in a Class 5A, Region 1 game.

New Hope has been eliminated from postseason play, but West Point is battling Lake Cormorant for second place in the region. Lake Cormorant will close the regular season with games at Clarksdale and at Oxford, the region leader. West Point will close its regular season with a game against Lewisburg. The top two seeds in the region will play at home in the first round of the playoffs.

Pickle hopes New Hope, which will close its season next week at Saltillo, can use the final two weeks to build momentum for next season. He said he is proud of his players for not quitting and for showing the commitment he talked about a few weeks ago.

“I was just glad they were able to get something positive at the end of the season,” Pickle said.

Pickle knows two wins won’t erase a season of frustration that included dropping a game-winning touchdown against Clarksdale, not taking advantage of opportunities in a loss to Center Hill, and not building on leads against Lake Cormorant and closing that game out. He said the Trojans easily could be sitting at 4-1 in the region and be playing for a playoff position. Without a postseason game to use as motivation, Pickle hopes his players remain committed for the last two games and set a positive example for next season.

“I have been proud of the younger guys who have hung in there and stayed with it,” Pickle said. “We haven’t had a lot of young guys who have quit.”

Pickle said the development of the offensive line and running game have made this easier for quarterback Thomas Stevens. Earlier in the season, Pickle said the running game was struggling, which forced Stevens to throw 30-40 times a game. That allowed defenses to pin their ears back and make things doubly tough for the Trojans. Lately, though, he said moving Brandon Bishop from guard back to center and Bryce Braddock to a guard has helped solidify the line. They have joined Tae-kin Reed, Cobee Mitchell, and Tre Samuel up front to help the running game improve.

“We are not the biggest up there by any means,” Pickle said. “But those guys have been able to jell together and play a little bit better as the season has progressed.”

Pickle also praised the efforts of sophomore running back Tyran Reed (21 carries, 141 yards, two touchdowns), who filled in for senior C.J. Clay, who was out with an injury. Pickle said Clay is questionable for Friday’s game.

Pickle said the contributions of receivers Terryonte Thomas (eight catches, 138 yards), Carlos Brooks, Andre Erby, and Tyran Reed helped Stevens go 12 of 18 for 271 yards.

All of those positives give Pickle reason to be confident entering the last two games of the season. He said his players understand the importance of commitment regardless of the opponent and how that will set the tone for the offseason and next season.

“It is West Point, but, you know what, it was West Point last year, too,” Pickle said about a 20-15 victory against the Green Wave last season. “I am not worried because it is West Point. It is just another team we’re going to play. I just asked them to finish the season strong and to do everything they can from here on out to prepare themselves no matter who they are playing.

“We’re going to battle against them and compete against them. Like I told them, I am not going into this game hoping to survive the game. I am going into the game expecting to win the game, wanting to win the game. That is the way I hope they take it, too.”

Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor

Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.