Porter’s Chapel, a season of firsts

Southern Sports & Travel

For more than a few years Porter’s Chapel head basketball coach E.J. Creel noticed that before each game the opposing head coach would walk past and shake hands with the Eagle’s assistant coach and say “Good luck Coach” and then return to his bench thinking he had just shaken hands with the Porter’s Chapel head coach.

That won’t happen any longer after E.J. Creel led Porter’s Chapel to the school’s first boys state championship with a 74-72 upset win in overtime over highly touted and second ranked Cenla to become the first woman head coach in MAIS history, and most likely state history, to lead a boys high school team to a state championship.

The 30 year old graduate and former player at Porter’s Chapel is in her sixth year as boys head coach and said Saturday night’s thrilling overtime win was “like a whirlwind” particularly in the waning minutes of overtime.

“Saturday night was just a big blur, we were up two points then down four with a minute left but somehow managed to pull it out,” said Creel.

“We got it down to one point with ten or so seconds left and we hit two free throws to put us up.”

Although Porter’s Chapel had the lead Creel said she was worried about Cenla driving the lane and scoring to pull out the win and that’s what she saw unfolding as Cenla did just that but the shot rimmed out and Porter’s Chapel pulled in the rebound and would add another free throw to give the Eagles a 74-72 lead and ultimately the win.

“Things just went our way Saturday night,” said Creel.

Creel said it hasn’t always been easy and she particularly recalls when the administration at Porter’s Chapel first approached her about coaching the boys varsity team.

“I was shocked when they asked me to do it,” said Creel. “I was pregnant with my second child at the time so not only was I a female but I was big and pregnant also.”

Amazingly Creel not only coached the boys varsity squad that season but the girls varsity and both junior varsity teams.

One area of concern would linger. Would the boys accept her as their head coach?

“I had no trouble at all with the boys accepting me as their head coach.”

Now in her sixth season Creel is able to build relationships with players at a younger age instead of coaching a group for a year or so before they graduate.

“I’m just now getting kids that I’ve coached for three years and they know I what expect out of them.”

“I have a group that knows I care about them and they work extremely hard for me. We have fun but at the same time they know it’s all business. I feel like this team has really grown and put their trust in me.”

Creel, who played basketball at the Mississippi University for Women in Columbus and then at Belhaven in Jackson, grew up the daughter of a farmer in the Delta 30 miles north of Vicksburg and attended Sharkey-Issaquena before eventually transferring to Porter’s Chapel.

“My dad would put me and my sisters on the treadmill in the mornings before school to kind of wake us up and when he realized that was too easy he had us run before school. He had a tractor barn that he converted into a gym and we spent hours upon hours in that gym nearly every day. There may have been two days a month that we didn’t spend time working in that gym.”

Creel’s dad was her motivator and disciplinarian but it was her brother, Mitchell Willis, who taught her the game of basketball.

“My brother coached us, he taught us how to do everything.”

Creel will lead Porter’s Chapel to another first this week as they play in the MAIS Overall Tournament for the very first time.

The 26-3 Eagles will take on Class AAA Parklane at 5:00 on Tuesday and it is probable that when the opposing coach looks to greet his opponent before the opening tip, he will know exactly who the boys head basketball coach at Porter’s Chapel is.