WEST POINT — Soft and timid usually aren’t words you hear used in association with the West Point High School football team’s defense.
Ordinarily, members of the Green Wave defense fly to the football as aggressively as the team’s running backs plow over you en route to the end zone.
But senior cornerback Antrayvious “Tray” Brownlee admits West Point wasn’t quite itself defensively at the start of its game against Louisville last week. That fact showed up on the scoreboard, as the Wildcats used a big pass play to take a 7-0 lead on the reigning Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 5A State champions.
Don’t worry, though, the West Point defense regrouped as quickly as Brownlee did Wednesday afternoon when he was asked if soft and timid were the right words to use.
“We start slow, but when we get going we are rocking,” Brownlee said.
West Point (2-0) will try to come out of the gate quicker on defense at 7 p.m. when it plays host to Starkville (2-0) in a matchup of two of the state’s top teams at McCallister Field.
West Point coach Chris Chambless credited defensive coordinator Matt Snow, defensive line coach Ricky Melton, defensive line coach Roger Burton, linebackers coach Seth Stillman, and secondary coach Charles Herron for getting the defense to bounce back after Louisville took the early lead. He said the defense opened the season with the mentality it didn’t want to bend even thought it lost key performers like Everitt Cunningham (East Mississippi Community College) and Keontae Hampton (Jackson State). Chambless said the defense “takes it personally” when teams score against it.
But Chambless said the thing that might separate his defense from another is it doesn’t take anything for granted. It doesn’t fall into a false sense of security from hard work in the weight room or offseason conditioning, which includes pushing and pulling tires. Instead, Chambless said all of the defensive players have a hunger to support each other and to fly to the football every chance they get. He saw that mentality emerge in the final three quarters against Louisville.
“Playing hard and wreaking havoc when you get to the ball, that is what is fun to watch,” Chambless said. “It is fun to watch it live. It is even more fun to watch it on film.
“They pick each other up. It is fun to watch our guys play because they play every play like they want to earn everything they get.”
Fair, a 5-foot-11, 190-pounder, and Brownlee, a 5-9, 155-pound safety, said that feeling pushes each member of the team to support their teammates. It serves as motivation for current members of the defense to compete against their teammates. Brownlee said it even fuels the defense to challenge itself against some of the program’s all-time best units. If two games is any indication, this West Point defense feels pretty confident about its potential.
“I think we have the No. 1 defense at West Point,” Fair said.
Chambless praises Fair for stepping into the void left by the graduation of Hampton. He said Brownlee and junior Ryan Melton also have shown vocal and performance leadership in the secondary.
Fair used the word “unstoppable” when asked to describe the West Point defense. He said he is willing to accept the role as a leader for this group because he takes pride in upholding the tradition of past great defenses. Fair also doesn’t mind being a vocal presence on the team.
“When we put our mind to it we go do it,” Fair said. “We had to step up and play (last week after Louisville took the lead). We started to move around and confuse them.”
Brownlee smiled when Fair made that comment. He has played with Fair for long enough that he accepts his teammate as a dual leader who is more comfortable talking about what he can do on the field. But Brownlee agrees with Fair that the Green Wave take pride in not allowing teams to score against them. Even he acknowledges he isn’t a vocal leader, Brownlee isn’t timid to speak up in support of his defense because he knows every defensive player on the roster is there to help him.
“Our defense plays as one,” said Brownlee, whose cousin, Jason, is a wide receiver on the team. “We don’t take anything for granted. We know how to play hard We just want to be great.
“We grind. We give it our all every play and don’t let our teammates down. You play for your teammates. You play for the fans. It is not really about you.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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 36 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 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
