Football has a very rich history at West Point High School. Their past successes have paved the way for lofty goals for the current program, as a deep run is expected almost every year.
That was no different for the Green Wave in 2020, as they reached the MHSAA Class 5A championship, where they were ultimately bested by West Jones 33-27.
The hard work that the Green Wave put in was reflected in their 7-3 regular season record, which included a four-game winning streak after an opening loss to Starkville. While last season was a good one for West Point, it didn’t come without its own challenges.
“It was different,” Green Wave coach Chris Chambless said. “It was a struggle at times. You definitely have to stay on your toes and make sure that you’re following all of the protocols. We were able to make it through our season, but there were bumps in the road.”
One of the big challenges that West Point faced was the lack of practice over the summer in 2020. Chambless acknowledged that no team was able to get a full summer of work last year, and he was proud of his team for working hard while staying safe to get themselves prepared for the grind of a season.
“A lot of our underclassmen last year that are going to be juniors and seniors this year have gotten tremendously better,” Chambless said.
The Green Wave had a strong presence on the field and in the locker room from the senior class in 2020, and it’s going to be a big challenge for the Green Wave to find players to step up and fill the holes that the class of 2021 left.
The key seniors who had a strong impact on last year’s team include defensive end and tight end Jaquarius Thomas, defensive tackle Jaylin Rush, receiver Trey Ryland and quarterback Corbin Kelley.
While Chambless said that last year’s seniors will be missed, he has a lot of confidence in the players competing to fill that void.
Chambless is excited to see what running back Cam Young can do as a senior. Young was an All-State player last year, and his coach gushed about his character and leadership abilities. Elsewhere on offense, Chambless mentioned Shawn Melton as another experienced player and an impact player at receiver. On the offensive line, the Green Wave return Lajaylon Sykes and Jalen Lairy, who have a good bit of experience.
Defensively, Chambless has a lot of confidence in this group that returns a lot of players. Jykeon Cunningham at linebacker is another one of the experienced guys that have a knack for leadership that Chambless talks about. The secondary has a lot of returning starters, including Jacoby McQuiller, Fred McMillian and Chris Dean, who each started almost every game for the Green Wave last season.
Chambless looks forward to the nondistrict schedule every year. He sees it as a measuring stick, so see if the team is up to the standard they’ve set, and overall a way to get better as the non-district teams they play are usually very good.
The Green Wave were scheduled to open with a trio of tough non-district opponents in Louisville, Starkville and Noxubee County, but with the school going to virtual learning for the next two weeks the first two have been canceled. .
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