Clinton Arrow Soccer Winning Season Recap

Arrows top Cougars to win Class 6A State Championship

By Datti Jinkiri

 

“Good things come to those who wait.” This popular saying accurately describes the supporters of Clinton High School’s boys soccer team. They have waited ten years for the team’s elusive tenth state championship, but that wait was more than worth it.

Luke Hopkins’ goal in the first minute of overtime was the difference as the Arrows (15-5-2) defeated the Northwest Rankin Cougars (24-1-1) 1-0 on Saturday, February 5, at Ridgeland High School. The Arrows avenged a regular season defeat to the previously unbeaten Cougars.

“This was a very special group of players,” head coach Tyler Wade said. “It was a great mix of talented kids who embraced the challenges we faced this year and never backed down. Every team is different, but it’s fun when you see a team’s potential before the season starts and watch them grow together and achieve their ultimate goal at the end of the year.”

Clinton High School’s tenth boys’ soccer state championship is the most of any school in Class 6A. The Arrows previously won state championships in 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2012.

However, this was Wade’s first soccer state championship win as a coach. He won nine combined state championships in cross country, track and field, and soccer while he was a student at Pearl High School. He was also an assistant coach on the Arrows’ 2016 Class 6A State Champion football team, so he knows quite a bit about what it takes to succeed in these big moments.

“Our message over and over to the boys was that the most talented team doesn’t always get the result,” he said. “The team that wins is usually the team that works the hardest, limits their mistakes, and takes pride in the battle.”

Hopkins, a Pearl River Community College signee, picked a critical moment to score the biggest goal of his high school career. He had his initial penalty kick saved, but he followed the rebound and fired it into an empty net. The goal was his third of the playoffs.

Goalkeeper Caleb Pemberton earned the shutout, making multiple key saves in the second half and the overtime periods. This capped off a huge two-game run for him, as he also saved two penalty kicks against Madison Central in the North State Championship game.

The victory ended a playoff run that saw the Arrows win three road games. On top of that, their road to the Class 6A State Championship Game was obstructed by two opponents (Tupelo and Madison Central) that the team had lost to in the regular season.

However, after fighting back to defeat Lewisburg in the first round, the resilient Arrows overcame Tupelo in overtime and edged Madison Central in a penalty kick shootout. These victories set up a meeting with the Cougars, who were the nation’s number-one team in the MaxPreps rankings. This would be a tall task for any team, but, according to Coach Wade, the Arrows’ three previous games had readied his battle-tested team for the big game.

“I thought all of those games and moments prepared us for the game and the environment on Saturday,” he stated. “We knew that if we controlled what we could control and limited our mistakes, we would always have a chance.”

“After every playoff game, I heard from a lot people, some with soccer knowledge and some with none at all. But the common thing I heard was that as the games went on, our opponents started to fatigue, and our guys continued to get stronger and stronger. I think that says the most about the type of players we had on the team this year.”
The Arrows finished the season with a 15-5-2 record. They also finished as the top-ranked team in the Central Mississippi Boys Soccer Poll.

Lady Arrows’ future is bright after winning North State Championship

By Datti Jinkiri

“The future is bright” – an apt sentence from Clinton High School girls soccer coach Elliot Rimmer that accurately encapsulates the optimism around his team this season. The youthful Lady Arrows made a valiant run to the Class 6A State Championship Game before falling to Northwest Rankin 2-0 on Saturday, February 6, at Ridgeland High School. This was the team’s second championship game appearance in the last three years.

“Outside of our team, I don’t think a lot of people really bought in to what we had in mind for this season,” Rimmer stated. “We’ve been in the mix for the last couple of years, but we had such young roster this year. I think it took quite a while before we convinced people that we were the real deal.”

Fresh off an emotional North State Championship win over 2021 Class 6A finalist Madison Central, the Lady Arrows came into the game confident. However, two goals within the first 12 minutes gave the Lady Cougars a lead that they would not relinquish.

The Lady Arrows’ best chances in the match came from two free kicks from senior Tailynn Remmel. However, the Holmes Community College signee’s powerful shots just missed the frame of the goal.

The Lady Arrows’ road to the championship game was tough, but they overcame adversity and won three tough road games. They toppled Lewisburg 3-0, Tupelo 1-0, and Madison Central 2-1. According to Rimmer, the team’s difficult schedule prepared them for these tough “win or go home” situations.

“We were competitive in every game, but we struggled getting results in big games early in the season,” he stated. “We put together such a grueling schedule every year so that by the time we reach the playoffs, we know how to play in those big games. We are fine with early season losses if they translate into late season victories, and that’s exactly what happened this year.”
Remmel and fellow senior Jakiya Michael provided a sizable part of the team’s attack, combining for 25 goals and 20 assists this season. Nevertheless, the bulk of the squad was underclassmen. Three freshmen, four sophomores, and two juniors started for the Lady Arrows in the championship game.

Rimmer was a standout four-year defender with Mississippi College, so it is obvious that he would exert his influence on the Lady Arrows’ young defensive unit. The defensive starters in the championship game had three freshmen (Kate Crisler, Isabella Jones, Mandy Leach) and two sophomores (Zoie Zumbro, Sarah Polk). Despite their youth, the team pitched an impressive eight shutouts this season.

On top of that, three sophomores, an eighth-grader, and a seventh-grader provided squad depth and contributed big minutes this season. Kayla Jones, the eighth grader, scored three goals in the playoffs, including the game-winner against Tupelo in overtime. According to Rimmer, having sizable contributions from all of the underclassmen bodes well for the future.
“The experience we gained [Saturday] night is invaluable,” Rimmer said. “When we played in the title game two years ago, we were top-heavy. Not a lot of experience remained from that game, so to be here with a young team bodes extremely well for the next two to three years. These youngsters are hungry, and this game will only increase that hunger.”

“The girls battled for everything, and it got them further than many believed they could go,” he added. “Our standard does not change because of age or personnel. We expect to compete for championships every year.”

The Lady Arrows finished the season with a 13-7-2 record.

 

 

ARROWS DEFEAT NORTHWEST RANKIN FOR SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP

By Danny C. Davis

In a big upset, the Clinton Arrows defeated previously undefeated Northwest Rankin for the Class 6A state title on February 5 at Titan Stadium at Ridgeland High School.

The Cougars were ranked # 1 in Mississippi and, in some polls, #1 nationally. With the win, the Arrows claimed their 10^th state soccer championship and the first since 2012. CHS finished 15-5-2 under nine-year head Arrow soccer coach Tyler Wade.

Clinton took the Cougars to a 0-0 tie at the end of 80 minutes regulation. In the first of two ten-minute overtime periods, the Cougars got a foul inside the box, resulting in a penalty kick for the Arrows.  Senior Luke Hopkins, who, as the kicker on the Arrow Football team kicked a late 4th period field goal to give  CHS a win over Tupelo and secure a playoff spot, took the PK.

Hopkins’ kick bounced off the NWR goal keeper, but Hopkins followed through with the bounce back shot and nailed the shot to give CHS a 1-0 lead.

But the game still had a lot of overtime minutes left for Clinton to protect the lead. That is when Arrow sophomore goal keep Caleb Pemberton, whose dad Clint played soccer for the Arrows twenty years ago, came up big.

Pemberton blocked two crucial late shots in the final ten-minute overtime period to preserve the 1-0 win and give the Arrows the title.

Coach Wade, leading the Arrows to their first title since taking over the program, had a lot of praise for his team that wasn’t predicted to even be in the title game this season.

“We were very confident this year that we had a good chance to make it to the state championship and compete if we played up to our capabilities,” said Wade. “I told the players and parents at the kickoff dinner in October and reminded them throughout the season.”

“We played Northwest in January on a cold night when it was 25 degrees and did not play great, but competed with them very good and gained confidence we could compete with them.”

“When we were tied at halftime, I really felt good about where we were and challenged the team to keep pressing and to keep taking the game to Northwest. We just got stronger as the game went on. We had gone to overtime in the second playoff round and PK’s against Madison Central in North State, so I know we could handle the pressure.”

“Luke [Hopkins] was a special player for us all year and someone we often counted on to be dangerous inside the box. He set up and scored on four penalties in the last three games for us.”

The winning PK was set up by Tanner Jones, who’s had work of putting himself in a position to win the ball in the box or get fouled. He does not always get the credit, but his presence is felt.”

“Caleb [Pemberton] was massive for us in the North State Championship game, also, and only gave up one goal in the last two games.  He earned the opportunity to be out there, and we would not have accomplished what we did this season without him.”

“This team this year was special, because there were a lot of talented players; but, most of all, they had good chemistry and really competed with each other. I have had a lot of talented teams in my nine years here at Clinton, but this one was really special. It was easy to see every player on the field mentally and physically getting more confident as time went on,” said Wade.

 

LADY ARROWS FALL 2-0 TO NWR IN STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

By Danny C. Davis

The Clinton High Lady Arrow soccer team just came up a bit little short in the girls Class 6A Soccer state championship game, played on February 4 at Titan Field at Ridgeland High School in Ridgeland.

CHS fell to the #1 ranked Northwest Rankin Lady Cougars 2-0 for the Class 6A state title.

Second-year Lady Arrow head soccer coach Elliot Rimmer led the team to the state championship in only his second year as head coach for CHS. Rimmer, a Clinton native, replaced twenty-two-year Lady Arrow soccer head coach Thomas Bobo in April 2021.

Bobo lead the Lady Arrows to the state championship title game in 2020 falling to the Gulfport Lady Admirals. Bobo retired from coaching after the 2020 season and was replaced by Rimmer, who was Bobo’s assistant soccer coach in for the 2019-2020 season.

CHS defeated rival Madison Central Lady Jaguars to advance to the championship game against the Lady Cougars.

Northwest Rankin scored early goals at the first twelve minutes of the first half to go up 2-0, but was shut out the last 68 minutes of regulation by Clinton.

Rimmer had praise for his young after the tough loss.

“Except for those two early goals, we really played well the last 68 minutes,” said Rimmer.

“Northwest had a lot of seniors starting, and we very so young this year, with only two senior starters. We are proud to have made it to the championship game and feel real good about next year.  Our whole back line and mid line were mostly freshman or sophomores, so next year we should be very good.”