West Point and Noxubee County are all that remain for area schools in the MHSAA playoffs after a climatic series of games last week as both teams continue their chase to play for another state championship.
West Point hosts Pontotoc
There’s a lot of glory in what West Point is chasing right now.
In the midst of a try to three-peat as Class 5A state champions – for the third time in program history – another title would give the Green Wave their 14th all-time championship, building upon their already state-leading 13 crowns, and doing so this season would give them their first undefeated campaign since 2017.
Sitting with the No. 1 seed in the 5A playoffs and ranked as the top team in the state, West Point (11-0) got one step closer to hoisting the trophy last week with a 42-19 victory over Vicksburg, in which running backs Quinten Thompson and Kingston Branham each charted over 100 rushing yards and one score and the team led 21-7 at halftime.
The victory sets the team up with a second-round bout with Pontotoc at home on Friday in a match that sends the victor to the North Half championship for the right to play for the golden football at Mississippi State on Dec. 4.
“Well, we’re just moving on,” assistant coach Roger Burton said. “(Vicksburg) is just another step in our ultimate goal, which is to be a state champion, and we’re just trying to do what we can each day to get better; do the little things right and make sure we execute and just get better every day when we come out to practice.”
Vicksburg was the first team in West Point’s last four weeks to score more than one touchdown against its vaunted defense that has held opposing offenses to an average of just 10 points per game all season. A few explosive passing plays and a turnover by the Green Wave helped create those scores, but by that point the Gators were already down by more than two scores.
“After that we kind of settled down and played really well,” Burton said. “They had some really good players and made some plays in the passing game that teams are going to make. .. You just have to get up, keep playing the next play and make sure you survive and advance.”
Their advancement sets up a rematch with the familiar Region 1-5A Warriors (7-4), who were dealt a 50-13 loss by West Point earlier this season. In that game, Jaylen Hall ran for 188 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries, Michael Williams added three more scoring runs and Branham also added a touchdown run. Through the air, quarterback Colt Whitacre threw a touchdown pass to Brysceon Hoskins.
That game, though, was six weeks ago on Oct. 10. A lot has transpired for both teams since then, and Burton said you can’t really count on previous experience against teams to create success in the playoffs.
“Each game has a mind of its own or a life of its own that’s going to take shape as the game unfolds,” he explained. “We just have to make sure that we are doing what we have to do to be down for whatever they’re going to do. We have to be ready for it and attack and play Green Wave football.”
The Warriors took down Lafayette 41-21 to end the regular season and earned a 27-0 shutout of Lanier last week to get their postseason started. Pontotoc comes into the game averaging 24 points on offense and gives up 23 on defense.
“They’re very diverse on offense, they do a really good job.” Burton said. “They have a good offensive line and have a good quarterback (Courtland Pass), he’s going to make plays. We have to do the best we can to contain him and make sure we are putting our best foot forward and are executing the gameplan we’ve put in.”
West Point, which averages 38 points per contest, comes into the game on the heels of back-to-back games in which it scored over 40 points. The Green Wave have scored at least 40 points five times this season and hit the 50-point mark twice, one of which was against the Warriors.
“Our offense is doing a really good job of executing,” he said. “Our offensive line is doing a really good job of blocking, and our running backs are doing a really good job of hitting the holes, and Colt Whitacre is managing the game really well at quarterback, our receiver Justin White is making good plays. … We just go out and try to do the best we can. They take the same mindset the defense does, just execute the gameplan in front of you and you’ll keep getting better every day.”
The winner of the game advances to the North Half championship game against either Cleveland Central or Holmes County Central.
Noxubee County hosts Choctaw County
Another week, another fourth-quarter offensive explosion that led to another Class 3A playoff victory for Noxubee County.
The Tigers’ offense woke up late in last week’s second round contest at Coahoma County and scored a series of touchdowns in the final frame to capture a 35-8 victory over the Red Panthers. Jadien Taylor and Jykeim Goodwin once again carried the offensive load and combined for three touchdown runs and produced over 100 rushing yards each. Taylor also ran home a punt return to help Noxubee (9-3) win its fifth straight game and head to its fourth straight third-round playoff game.
“Everybody is feeling good,” head coach Teddy Young said. “(We’re) continuing to play football, advancing in the playoffs, so that’s always a good thing.”
The Tigers will be back at home today in a matchup against Choctaw County (7-4) in a rematch of last year’s Class 3A state championship game. It was a match that Noxubee was on the losing side of (34-27) and is one that is still fresh on the minds of its players. Young said it’s not going to take much coachspeak from him to get the Tigers fired up for the game as they have revenge on their minds.
“Going on this next state championship run and getting the chance to knock off the team that beat you for a state title last year at your place, you can’t ask for a better script,” he said. … “Like I told the guys, ‘To be state champions you have to beat the state champions.’ They are the defending state champs and until they are knocked off the playoffs they still have a chance to defend their title.”
The two teams have played each other only five times, including two playoff games, in mostly tightly contested finishes. Noxubee leads with three wins in the series where the outcome has been decided by an average of just 13.2 points, and defeated the Chargers in another barn-burner earlier this season, 8-7 – a game that only adds to the lore of the budding rivalry. In that matchup, Noxubee was trailing 7-0 in the third quarter when Taylor snagged a touchdown and went back on the field as the holder for the team’s PAT attempt to tie the game. A bad snap left Taylor with the ball in his hands and many fires to put out on the busted play, but he quickly threw a pass to Cameron Chandler in the end zone for what became a game-winning 2-point conversion. If the past is any indication of the future, another tight finish is in store when the lights of Tiger Stadium turn on tonight in Macon.
“It’s always a battle,” Young said. “ You know it’s going to be a battle for four quarters, and I think it will come down to who wants it the most and who is going to take care of the football.”
The Chargers rattled off two blowout wins over Thomas Edwards (53-16) and Kossuth (49-7) to make it to the third round of the playoffs for the fourth straight year and average 33 points a game behind the running of senior ball carrier Jeremiah Miller.
“They are coached very well, very disciplined,” Young said. “They don’t do too much to hurt themselves. They are going to come in and try to run the ball. Defensively, they fly around. They depend on their front line to make a lot of plays, so we just have to come in and match their intensity. This is a playoff game. They won state last year, so they’ve been in this situation before, so we just have to play better offensively and defensively. We have to play great ball like we’ve been playing all season.”
The key for Noxubee is getting off to a faster start offensively. Against Yazoo County in the first round and Coahoma last week it took fourth-quarter magic to pull out the win. Young said they can’t keep waiting to score in touch games like this one.
“It’s something that we’ve been (putting) emphasis on this week, offensively playing better. It’s just the little things,” Young said. “We get into scoring position and we get penalties to back us up out of it, just missing blocking assignments or reads at the quarterback positions. (It’s) just little things that we have to fix, but that’s what we’ve been preaching all week offensively. We have to start faster these next three weeks.”
The game’s winner will head to the North Half championship game against either Aberdeen or Winona.
MAIS update
In the MAIS, Heritage Academy (10-2) is playing at 7 p.m. today at Jackson Academy against Parklane Academy (10-1) for the Class 4A Division II state championship, and Oak Hill (9-3) Academy is scheduled to take on Winston Academy (4-8) Saturday at 11 a.m. at Mississippi College for the Class 2A Division II state title.
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 34 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 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
