Green Wave players sign to the next level

West Point High School football is not just known for making it to the state title game year in and year out, but it is also known for getting players to play on the college level each year.

On Wednesday, six players inked their names onto their letters of intent to play at destinations such as East Mississippi Community College, East Central Community College, Northwest Mississippi Community College, Northeast Mississippi Community College, and Hinds Community College.

Two of the six players, Keshawn Henley and Tajon Smith, signed to play at East Central under first-year head coach Jonathan Webster in Decatur.

For Henley, it is exciting for him to go down to ECCC and do what he says he does best, which is play football.

The Warriors made Henley and Smith feel at home.

“It was the love from the coaches and the team down there,” Henley said. “It feels a lot better knowing that I've got somebody (Smith) who I've been playing with for the past couple years coming down there with me.”

Ahmari Cox continued the West Point-to-EMCC tradition when he signed with the Lions.

Cox felt wanted by EMCC the most during the recruiting process.

“They seemed more interested in me than all the others,” Cox said.

Jhace Mallard inked his name to Senatobia to play for the Northwest Rangers, who have had substantial success over the past few years. In fact, that success is what drew Mallard to play there.

“They have a winning culture with amazing coaches,” Mallard said. “They run an amazing defense, and I'm just ready to take the opportunity.”

In previous years, Kolban Hogan always watched his older teammates sign their letter of intent and dreamed of being up there himself when it came time.

That's why he was excited to sign with Hinds.

“Every day, I just worked hard towards this so I could be up there,” Hogan said. “The program we have here at West Point is all about hard work and having a winning mentality, and I feel like I can bring that over to Hinds and make it a mindset for my teammates.”

Kenneth Yates is going up Highway 45 to play for the Northeast Tigers in Booneville after he decommitted from Mississippi Gulf Coast.

“After I decommitted, Northeast called me and came to me, and I really liked their school, so it just felt like a good fit for me,” Yates said.

West Point head coach Chris Chambless would like to go back and count how many players have gone to the next level from his program.

He is certain it's a rather big number.

“It's got to be a bunch,” Chambless said.

When it comes to the West Point Green Wave consistently putting multiple players out into the college level each year, Chambless says it's a testament to the type of community West Point is and how much it cares about their high school football.

“Our guys, our coaching staff, and our teachers have the mindset where we don't want to let the community down, so we're gonna give them all that we have, and the kids in turn are going to give us all that they have,” Chambless said. “That helps them take that stepping stone into the future.”