WEST POINT — Two of the strongest teams in Mississippi will meet in West Point on Thursday. The Green Wave will host local rivals New Hope to close out the regular season, but both squads anticipate playing more November football.
Both the Green Wave and the Trojans have powered their way through district play to set up a winner-take-all matchup in West Point on Thursday. The winner will take the top seed in the Class 5A playoffs.
The two teams are very different in history, but similar in style. They will run the ball, try to control the clock and lean on defense to close out the important win.
“It’s critical,” West Point head coach Brett Morgan said of the clock management. “It forces you to be efficient because they run the ball too, so you’re only looking at getting maybe three or four possessions a half. If you mess around and you don’t execute, you’re in a tight spot offensively. We like to play that brand of ball but when you play someone else who does it you’ve got to be efficient and get first downs, because they’re doing the same thing.”
The Trojans have a dynamic weapon at quarterback in freshman Tyrekus Brooks, who ran for three touchdowns in a 42-7 blowout of Lafayette last week. He leads an offense of both under and upperclassmen who have put a winless 2023 season in the dust to create a new identity.
“There is a sense of accountability from seniors down to the freshmen, and really in the staff as well going down to the kids,” Trojans head coach Allen Glenn said. “Our coaches do an incredible job, we’re not perfect by any means, but I feel like we’ve got a culture of accountability and the kids bought into it. That’s a big part of winning games, that’s no secret.”
Glenn’s team is 8-1 and hasn’t gone unnoticed. West Point, 6-3, is having a good season as well in Morgan’s first year at the helm. His team has kept tabs on the Trojans and expects a closely contested regular season finale with so much on the line.
“You have to watch the same film, so we’ve watched them play other teams during preparation for district games,” Morgan said. “You naturally see what other teams are doing in the same region, but they’ve done a great job. Probably the biggest turnaround story in Mississippi football this year. They’re very well coached, they’ve done a tremendous job getting those kids believing and they play hard. They’re just a well-rounded team.”
New Hope has become a surprising contender, but West Point is always circled on the schedule for any team in the state. Glenn recognized the program’s reputation, embracing the opportunity for his team to go toe-to-toe with one of the state’s football institutions.
“Tons of respect for those guys and that program. They’ve been the gold standard for all classifications, not just 5A. They’ve been at a high level for a long time and they play a tough schedule. They do a great job, the culture is in a good place and they’ve got great coaches with great kids who believe in the program. I’m excited for our guys and the opportunity to go play them.”
Both coaches recognized the importance of the fundamentals when previewing the game, citing a need for sound play and coaching in all three phases. Morgan emphasized the importance of the Green Wave’s defense in district play, a group that hasn’t allowed more than 14 points in four consecutive games.
“Our defense has been really steady, and especially the last four games we’ve played good team defense,” he said. “It’s the backbone of the team, as we expected coming into the year, but we continue to work hard every day and we need to make sure we’re clicking in all phases. We need good special teams, we need to protect the ball and play efficient offense.”
The Trojans will have the difficult task of finding a way through that defense, but their prolific offensive production speaks for itself. They’ve scored 36 or more points in four straight games and at least 20 points in all nine games this season.
For Glenn and his team, this matchup might not be what was expected of them in September, but it’s where the team deserves to be after nine weeks of impressive performances. Both the Trojans and Green Wave earned the right to play for a district title, all that’s left is to play the game.
“It’s hard to tell from when we got here in March to now, what the expectation was,” Glenn said. “We felt like our kids would compete, and come in with the right mindset, but as far as predicting the outcome of where we are now that would’ve been a little premature. Looking at the room the day I met them, I knew there were athletes and that we could compete in our division. Kudos to our kids for believing in the process and getting to where we are now.”
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