Clinton Arrow boys soccer team honored at banquet

By Danny C. Davis

The Clinton Arrow boys’ soccer team was honored at the annual awards banquet held recently at the Northside Baptist Church fellowship hall.

     The Arrows finished the 2024-25 season 10-6-1. Clinton defeated defending Class 7A champion Hernando 2-0 in the opening round of the Class 7A North playoffs 2-0, but fell to Tupelo in the Class 7A quarterfinals 3-2 . That game was a heartbreaker for the Arrows, who had gained momentum at the end of the season. The game ended 2-2 in regulation and was still tied after two ten-minute overtime periods and two five-minute sudden death periods. But Tupelo won on the penalty kick final to end the season for CHS.

     Head coach Tyler Wade thanked assistant coaches Corey Jierski, Michael Pletzke and Will Nations for their help during the season and gave comments on the season.

     “Every soccer season is different, and we had a couple seasons where we won back-to-back state championships,” said Wade. “But we lost a lot of seniors from the past season, and, as coaches, we had a lot of unknowns going into this season. Once we got everybody together, we started playing with more confidence. We only returned ten to fifteen percent of the total minutes that were played last season back this year.”

     “There were a lot of things we did not know early in the season,” continued Wade.  “How would the players respond to playing twenty games in a short season, and how would they bounce back after a loss, and how would they handle success?  But when I thought back on this season, the thing I was proud of the most was how they handled all the uncertainty.”

     “As coaches, we knew we had players that could compete and do the things we asked of them. I was proud of how they handled things.  Ultimately, they did everything we asked of them and competed the way we wanted them to during the season. This group proved to us if we stick to our goals and work hard that we could have success.”

     “We started 0-2 in the district, losing to Starkville, and we were still trying to figure things out. But we bounced back and played well going into the playoffs. We beat Hernando in the opening playoff round, and I felt we were playing like the top two or three teams in the state then. We had beat Tupelo twice in district games, but just had one of those games in the playoff game when things did not go well.  In the end, we put ourselves in a good position; and, hopefully, this taught the guys life lessons. I am appreciative of all our players, coaches and parents, and our thanks to everyone this season,” said Wade.

     Team awards for 2024-25 included Myles Manuel, Junior Varsity Leadership Award; Luke Boone, Rising Arrow Award; Juan Paredes, Rookie of the Year Award; Bradley Wells, Team 100% Award; Ryan Carite, Team Sportsmanship Award; Jayden Fields, Most Improved Player; Bradley Wells, Arrow Award; Owen Coker, Most Valuable Midfielder Award; Jayden Fields and Brayden Bridges, Most Valuable Defensive Player Awards; Erick Martinez and Justin Singleton, Most Valuable Offensive Player Awards; and Owen Coker, Overall Most Valuable Player Award.