Kahnen Daniels, West Point Green Wave roll over Laurel in MHSAA 5A State Championship
OXFORD, Miss. — West Point tailback Kahnen Daniels had accomplished pretty much everything you can accomplish at the high school level, but there were two accolades that had evaded him: an MHSAA State Championship golden ball and an MVP trophy.
Check and check.
The reigning Class 5A Mr. Football rushed for 253 yards and three touchdowns in an absolute downpour to help the Green Wave to a 35-7 win over Laurel to clinch the 2023 5A State Championship at Ole Miss's Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
"It took us a long time," Daniels said. "But we kept on plugging to the end. We knew the weather was going to make us run the ball more even more than we usually do, but that's our game."
The Green Wave (11-3) never completed a pass.
They took control halfway through in the second quarter, when Que Tillman-Evans capped a 16-play, 80-yard drive with a three-yard run to give West Point a 14-7 lead.
Daniels' second touchdown run came with 59 seconds left in the first half and put West Point ahead 21-7.
The Green Wave poured it on from there, with Tillman-Evans and Daniels both finding the end zone again in the second half. Tillman-Evans finished with 129 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns. West Point rushed for 447 yards as a team.
Laurel (8-7) finished the game with 178 yards of total offense.
"It just wasn't our night," Laurel coach Ryan Ernest said. "We had some opportunities early with the passing game, but we didn't have as much success later in the game. (West Point) had a lot to do with that. I'm really proud of our guys and our program, but West Point was the better team tonight."
The championship is the 12th for the West Point program and first since 2019. The 12 championships is the most for any program in the state, although Louisville has a chance to get to 12 with a win over Columbia Saturday.
Photos: West Point cruises past Laurel 35-7 in 2023 MHSAA Class 5A Championship
