West Harrison notches first win over Moss Point, starts 4-1 for second straight year
Quincy Patrick’s West Harrison football program isn’t your older sibling’s team.
West Harrison (4-1) achieved a milestone Friday when it earned its first-ever win over Moss Point (1-4) via a 49-0 homecoming romp.
The win gives the Hurricanes a 10-5 record since the beginning of 2022 following 13 consecutive losing seasons from program inception through 2021.
“It’s a step closer to the destination we’re trying to get to,” Patrick — now in his sixth season as head coach — said of the Hurricanes’ win over the Tigers. “But it’s always the journey, not the destination.”
West Harrison running back Jordan Stapleton scored twice, including a 42-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
He was one of six different Hurricanes to find the end zone on a night that gave WHHS four wins through five games for the second time in as many years.
Much of the damage to the scoreboard was carried out by a deep and experienced stable of running backs that Patrick deploys through his flexbone offense.
“Man, they’re special,” Patrick said of his ball carriers. “They got put in the skillet last year, probably too early. But they stayed in the skillet, they got cooked, they got seasoned. They’re great young men, they listen and they’re coached well. It’s a blessing to coach them.”
Stapleton’s two scores were complemented by rushing touchdowns from Jeremy Jones, Javon McCalebb and Kaiden Miller out of the backfield and one by receiver Tyson Johnson. West Harrison also got a strong game from Trey Harris, who has scored 12 times since last season.
A unit built through adversity
Things haven’t always gone according to plan for Patrick’s backfield.
Three running backs suffered significant injuries over the course of last year, including a devastating preseason injury to Hurricane heartbeat Melvin Pickens.
Those moments forced a young group to learn on the job more quickly than expected.
“The worst thing in the world, I still lose sleep over it, we lost Melvin Pickens last year,” Patrick said. “I feel so bad for him, a young man who played his way to a football scholarship and it was all taken away. But it allowed us to put the (younger backs) in the incubator and get them some meaningful snaps.”
Now three different running backs are over 200 yards rushing and Stapleton is closing in on a 1,000-yard campaign with still five regular-season games remaining.
“If they try to game plan for me, we got these two,” Stapleton said of Harris and Jones. “If they try to game plan for them, they got me.”
If the trio of Stapleton, Harris and Jones wasn’t enough for opponents to prepare for, a fourth back is entering the fold.
Javon McCalebb has over 700 rushing yards in his career, but missed the first chunk of the season as he continued his recovery from a knee injury.
In his first game back against the Tigers, McCalebb scored on a 1-yard plunge in the third quarter.
McCalebb was on the other end of the injury bug a year ago when his role was increased following an injury to Stapleton, and he knows firsthand how it feels to be on both sides of the situation.
“We just got to play for our brothers,” McCalebb said. “We know they want to be out here as much as we do, we just got to play like they’re out here with us.”
Tougher days ahead
West Harrison’s hot start to 2022 ended with the Hurricanes watching the postseason from home after a 3-4 showing in district games left Patrick’s team one game short of the postseason.
Now a 6A school and situated in an even tougher region with Hancock, Pascagoula and familiar foe Picayune, the Hurricanes are well aware the rest of the journey offers few breaks.
The good news is Patrick doesn’t believe his team has reached its potential yet.
“I honestly feel like last year when we were 4-1 we were playing the best football we probably could play at that time,” Patrick said. “I don’t think we’re anywhere near where we can be or should be (this year). I got to coach better, players got to execute better.”
To the players, the outside perception of WHHS football isn’t lost on them. They see the schedule as more than just a challenge, but also as an opportunity.
“We feel like we get disrespected every week so we just put that mindset on the board,” McCalebb said. “We got to prove them wrong.”
“We just got to keep bringing the energy, show them the new West Harrison,” Harris added.
The Hurricanes are off next week before opening district play with Hancock at home.
