By BILL BURRUS
GREENWOOD – Tucked away on the outskirts of a small Delta town, a high school sports dynasty is in the making.
The PIllow Academy girls soccer team recently captured its third straight MAIS Division II soccer championship – the first time that feat has been accomplished in DIvision II in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools.
Pillow Head of School Barrett Donahoe is amazed at the accomplishment and proud of the attention it brings the school.
“Three championships in a row is extremely hard to accomplish at any level of any sport.The success that we have in girls soccer, and any sport for that matter, always helps increase school spirit and the overall environment of the school,” he said. “Without a doubt, girls soccer has been a bright spot on our campus. I cannot say enough about the hard work and effort that our players and coaches have put in to make this program what it is today. Our fan support is tremendous, and the girls are exciting to watch.”
Asked if he considers PA to have a dynasty in girls soccer, Donahoe said: “No doubt. I think we are right in the middle of one!”
Led by head coach Mary Clare Brock and assistant Merritt Harris, the Lady Mustangs claimed their most recent soccer crown by dismantling East Rankin 5-1.They outscored their three postseason foes by a combined score of 16-3.
The team was anchored by seniors Elise Howard, Avery Howard and Alauren Hodo.
It was a bittersweet victory for Brock, who became head coach when these seniors were in the seventh grade.
“I was having emotions I didn’t see coming. To see them go out with a three-peat made me so proud,” Brock explained. “I have seen them grow so much as players and young ladies.”
In the championship game, junior Addison Weems showed off her mind-blowing speed and cat-like quickness, scoring two goals in the first 10 minutes against East Rankin, She finished with three goals, while the senior Howard twins fittingly capped off the scoring with a goal each.
Alauren Hodo, the only other senior starter, had the goal on lockdown until East Rankin found the net late on a penalty kick.
Hodo, a stalwart in the goal all season, and the Howard twins were honored by being named to the MAIS all-star game, with Elise taking home her team’s MVP award.
The loss of three players of their caliber might normally be a cause for concern, but Pillow is stocked with young, tough, aggressive players.
Avery Howard said the PA program is in good hands.
“These girls have played a lot from a young age and play with a lot of maturity,” she explained. “We are quite comfortable leaving it in their hands.”
Ninth-grader Mere Austin Wilkey is proud to hear that and says the Lady Mustangs are hungry to keep that Pillow tradition alive.
“I don’t want us to get ahead of ourselves because there is a lot of great competition out there, but I feel great about it. We have a lot of youth on our team who are ready to step up and fill the shoes of these amazing seniors. The juniors (Addison Weems and Alanna Hodo) have played on all three state championship teams, and we have five others who started in the last two championship seasons who are also returning,” Wilkey said. “Coach Brock and coach Harris really push us to be our best and to work together. When putting a new starting line together they really push teamwork, and that is what it takes to win championships. We are lucky to have them.”
The Lady Mustangs punched their title game ticket this year with a 6-1 victory over Lamar School, which defeated PA in the state title match several times in recent history.
“After that win against Lamar, we wanted to stay hot and jump on East Rankin and never let up,” said senior Avery Howard, who has started for Pillow since the seventh grade – just as her twin sister has done. “Addison got us going quickly on the offensive end, and it was on then.”
Pillow was in the state finals in all but one of its seven since the Howard twins joined the program. The Lady Mustangs have played in championship game in eight of the last nine years, winning it all in 2018 while Brock was an assistant coach under Amy Coleman,
The returning nucleus for Pillow includes Weems and Alana Hodo, both expected to be senior leaders next season. Weems, Wilkey, Alanna Hodo and Maci Lamb recently played in the MAIS Futures Game.
Weems praises the leadership from a small senior group and looks forward to moving into that role next season.
“We owe a lot to our seniors and look forward to the challenge of keeping this program on top,” Weems said. “I know I will be able to step up as one of our leaders. I have always strived to be a role model on and off the field for my teammates.:
Eighth-grader Riley Coleman is also a player to watch in the future, with Brock calling her a “beast.” Other starters returning are Molly, Downing, Jane Kimmel Buford and Mari Laine Dyksterhouse and Alanna Hodo.
“We are blessed to have so many good, young girls coming back,” Brock said.
All the young PA players credit their participation in the Delta Red Bulls Competitive Soccer Club for giving them a great base to start their careers at Pillow.
“Travel soccer has absolutely changed high school soccer for the better,” Wilkey said. “We play year-round and practice at least four hours each week. Having coaches like Carlos Hernandez, Patti Coleman and Serafin Simon, who helped to develop our skills early, gives us a huge advantage when we get to start playing school sports.”
As former Lady Mustang soccer players and PA alumni, both Brock and Harris take great pride in pushing the program forward. They played under the late Bobo Champion, who founded the school’s soccer program for girls in 1992. The team started out playing on the Greenwood rec fields and wound up wearing boys jerseys the first season.
But Champion, who was Green and Gold to the core, had a vision for girls soccer. Brock said there is no doubt in her mind that he’s looking down with great pride on what has become a girls soccer dynasty.
“Bobo Champion had a huge impact on my life while playing for him,” Harris said. “I am just trying to be as much like him as I can for these girls now.”
From a humble beginning to a state soccer dynasty, both coaches say it’s been a heck of a ride – one that appears to have many more chapters coming,
