WEST POINT — West Point’s Alex Harper sent away the opening kickoff of Friday’s game against Neshoba Central at 6:57 p.m., three full minutes before the contest was supposed to begin.

The Green Wave evidently just couldn’t wait to get back to the state championship.

West Point (11-2) beat Neshoba Central (12-1) by a score of 20-14 to make its sixth straight appearance in the MHSAA Class 5A title game.

“They were good,” Green Wave wide receiver Shawn Melton said of the Rockets, “but when you meet West Point …”

Most teams know what happens then. The Green Wave are tied with South Panola among Mississippi public schools with 11 state championships and will face Picayune at 7 p.m. Dec. 4 in their sixth straight title game appearance. West Point won four straight state championships from 2016 to 2019 before losing 33-27 to West Jones last year in Jackson.

And their readiness to avenge that defeat won them a game characterized by impatience from the opening kickoff to the closing seconds.

West Point weathered brutal back-to-back offsides penalties that gave Neshoba Central new life in the fourth quarter, helping the Rockets keep alive an eventual tying drive. The Green Wave also reaped the benefits of an apparent refereeing error when the clock ran out on the Rockets a little too fast.

Neshoba Central appeared to have a first down around the 30-yard line on a catch by Dez McWilliams with 10 seconds to go, but the side judge swung his arm to keep the clock running when it should have stopped to reset the chains.

The umpire eventually stopped the clock with 5 seconds left, but it soon started again. Rockets quarterback Eli Anderson spiked the ball with no time remaining, and West Point players rushed the field, another trip to the title game assured.

“We’re ready,” Melton said. “We’re coming.”

The Green Wave showed that when it was needed most Friday night, scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 2:22 to go after the Rockets erased a 14-0 deficit. On third-and-8, West Point quarterback Que Tillman-Evans found tight end Kolban Hogan for a 33-yard passing score.

“We know we fought the whole game; they came back, but our guys just stayed together,” West Point coach Chris Chambless said.

Tillman-Evans, a sophomore who has seen his playing time increase significantly as the season has gone on, had a 70-yard touchdown run for the Green Wave in the first quarter. He rolled over a Neshoba Central defender and appeared to go down before reaching midfield, but no whistle blew as Tillman-Evans sprinted down the right sideline.

“He’s a great athlete,” Chambless said. “He can throw the ball extremely well.”

So can sophomore Kahnen Daniels, who split time under center with Tillman-Evans. But like his West Point teammate, Daniels made his presence felt with his legs, taking the ball in from 17 yards out on a third-quarter bootleg for the Green Wave’s second touchdown.

But Neshoba Central’s potent offense eventually broke through.

Elijah Ruffin broke tackle after tackle for a 55-yard catch-and-run score midway through the third quarter, halving the 14-point deficit. With 7:03 left in the game, Ja’Naylon Dupree took a pitch left for a 10-yard touchdown.

Dupree’s score came after West Point appeared to have a stop, forcing the Rockets into fourth-and-7 deep in their own territory. But the Green Wave jumped offsides twice in a row, giving Neshoba Central a first down.

“Mental mistakes will hurt you,” Chambless said. “We made some, and we overcame them.”

Chambless praised the resilience of a senior class determined to make up for last year’s shortcomings in powering the Green Wave to the win.

Running back Cameron Young fought for 48 yards on 17 carries against a tough Neshoba Central defensive front, defensive back Jacoby McQuiller intercepted Anderson twice, and Melton had a key catch on West Point’s go-ahead drive.

“We’re going to go as the seniors go, and the seniors really wanted this one,” Chambless said.

They’ve wanted it all offseason, according to Chambless — ever since watching the Mustangs crowd around the gold ball the Green Wave knew could have been theirs.

On Friday, West Point gave itself a chance to make amends.

“We had a little bad taste in our mouth after last year,” Chambless said. “We’ll go next week and see what happens.”

West Point 20, Neshoba Central 14

Neshoba Central (12-1) 0 0 7 7 — 14

West Point (11-2) 7 0 7 6 — 20

First quarter

WP — Que Tillman Evans 70 run (Alex Harper kick), 6:19

Third quarter

WP — Kahnen Daniels 17 run (Harper kick), 8:32

NC — Elijah Ruffin 55 pass from Eli Anderson (Hunter Bavetta kick), 5:44

Fourth quarter

NC — Ja’Naylon Dupree 10 run (Bavetta kick), 7:03

WP — Kolban Hogan 33 pass from Que Tillman-Evans (kick failed), 2:22

Individual statistics

PASSING: West Point — Que Tillman-Evans 4-6, 94; Kahnen Daniels 3-4, 64.

RUSHING: West Point — Kahnen Daniels 11-88, Que Tillman-Evans 2-75, Cameron Young 17-48, Keshawn Henley 6-23.

RECEIVING: West Point — Shawn Melton 3-68, Ahmari Cox 3-57, Kolban Hogan 1-33.

Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.