#HSFT20 – Stop #57 West Point Green Wave

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WEST POINT, Miss. (WCBI) —The four peat is complete. The drive for five begins. The West Point Green Wave secured a fourth straight state championship last season after defeating Picayune 38-26. Now the Green Wave look to join elite company as they try for a fifth consecutive title. The only school to ever accomplish that, South Panola.

“Our players and our coaches know what’s on our shoulders,” head coach Chris Chambless said. “We play for our community, our pride, and our school. That’s not gonna change.”

“Go harder,” junior linebacker Keon Cunningham said. “When everybody look up, we know we got to put on.”

“We got to get them.” “We got to keep them state championships rolling in.”

The Green Wave have to replace key pieces from last season’s backfield that featured Brandon Harris, Dantaryius Cannon and Jimothy Mays. West Point has embraced and mastered the art of re-tooling year in and year out. A challenge that head coach Chris Chambless uses to keep the team motivated.

“It’s a driving force for us to try to prove ourselves each year,” Chambless explained. “I tell our seniors every year our expectations remain the same, but people change. What are you gonna do to lead our program in the right direction? We’re gonna go as our seniors go. If our seniors lead us in the right direction, then we’re gonna be ok.”

“We got a couple guys coming back,” Cunningham said. “A couple who are going to learn, but we’ll get there.”

Despite the difficult off-season, Chambless praises his senior group for their work in leading this team. A group that wasted no time in preparing for next season’s grind.

“Our leadership so far has been great even though it’s been tough on them to lead us in the locker room, lead us on the field, lead us in the weight room,” Chambless said. “They’ve done a great job of doing that.”

“Always grind,” Cunningham said. “We grind soon as we get done with the season. We right back in the weight room going for another one.”

Winning a state championship, let alone a fifth straight, takes an incredible amount of dedication and pride, but if you ask anyone in the Green Wave’s locker room, they’ll tell you just how much winning means to them.

“I think our guys are real passionate about carrying on the tradition,” Chambless said. “Carrying the torch so to speak into the season. They care about it. They’ve really been working hard not only physically but mentally on the game as well this summer.”

“West Point going to play football regardless,” Cunningham said.

The chase for history starts September 4th with a road matchup against rival Starkville.