High School Football Tour: West Point

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WEST POINT, Miss. (WCBI) — It’s state championship or bust this season for the West Point Green Wave.

Simply put from senior Dvanta Randle: “We’re coming for it.”

It has been nearly three years since the Green Wave advanced to Jackson, and the team that’s back this year is capable of putting it all together. Yet head coach Chris Chambless is quick to not single out one area of his team that’s more talented than the others.

“The whole team in general is a strength,” coach Chambless said.  “I won’t point anybody out. We look at it as a machine, we’re all moving parts. We all need to move for this to work. That’s our focus all of preseason and our first ball game.”

Let’s be honest though, we all know the strength of this year’s Green Wave. A certain running back committed to Mississippi State.

But he won’t admit it.

“I like our offensive line,” senior running back Aeris Williams said. “They may be small in size but they get after it and they grind.”

The humble senior won’t say it, but he’s a major part of the 5A favorites from West Point.

“Having Aeris not only as a leader but also as a player helps,” coach Chambless said.  “It raises everyone’s level of play and the defense. We expect to play him on defense this year some as well.”

“He’s a great running back,” teammate Dvanta Randle said. “It’s fun going with him. This is my last year with him, and I’m going to miss playing with him.”

With a 1,700-yard rusher in the backfield comes major expectations. The Green Wave faithful expect the pride of West Point to bring home the gold ball this year and that’s nothing new for the Wave. This year though, they know they must back it up.

“That’s the expectation we put on ourselves and certainly we know our community expects it from us,” coach Chambless said.  “When you talk to any other team from Mississippi and they mention West Point, they’re thinking they will play well every game and they should play for the Title every year.”

“We can go as far as we want to,” Williams said.  “We just have to stick together and grind together. Wherever we want to go, we will go.”

West Point will go first to South Panola as they face a rematch with the Tigers next Thursday before preparing for another rematch with the Starkville Yellow Jackets.