Video: West Point Earns 2016 Top 100 National Football Ranking by MaxPreps

WEST POINT, Miss. (WCBI/MaxPreps) – The West Point High School football team has finished No. 90 nationally for the 2016 season. The announcement was made by MaxPreps, the online high school sports leader and a CBSSports.com site.

“Each fall, over sixteen thousand varsity football teams take the field in hopes of being champions.  The MaxPreps Tour of Champions and the Army National Guard honor the most outstanding teams in the nation for their state championship performance and elite national level ranking.” said Andy Beal, president and founder of MaxPreps. “Congratulations to the West Point Green Wave players, coaches and fans for an amazing year and for earning the Army National Guard’s national rankings trophy.”

West Point (14-1) romped past Laurel, 29-8, on Dec. 3 to capture the Mississippi 5A state championship, the school’s first title since 2010 and its eighth overall. Its lone blemish came early in the season to Starkville (28-6 on Sept. 2) didn’t derail the Green Wave from posting its fourth 14-win season since 2005. West Point is one of 50 schools being honored on the MaxPreps Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard.

“It’s an honor for our school, community and players and it brings a lot of pride,” said West Point head football coach and athletic director Chris Chambless, who completed his 11th season.

Mississippi Army National Guard Master Staff Sergeant Heath McArthur presented Coach Chambless and the team with the Army National Guard national ranking trophy during an assembly afternoon. The team also received a banner for their accomplishment.

“Courage, commitment and unity are just a few qualities that superior athletes, along with the men and women of the Army National Guard, have in common,” said Sergeant First Class Michael Semeja of the Army National Guard. “On behalf of the National Guard, I am privileged to recognize this nationally ranked championship team for their dedication, leadership and teamwork.”

MaxPreps Computer Rankings are used to determine team rank for the Tour of Champions. The system utilizes the huge number of game results stored in the MaxPreps database. Generally, the more a team wins the higher the ranking, but the system takes into account quality wins (against other highly ranked opponents), margin of victory, and strength of schedule. Playoff games are weighted 2.1 times a regular season game.