He played football hours after his mother’s death. This is how he honors her
Creevy Harness Jr. found himself alone in the bathroom of the Pascagoula High School Field House when he was overcome with a new wave of grief.
When the other members of the Panthers football team found their teammate struggling to hold back tears, they did as they had since the day Harness Jr.’s mother passed away and poured in their support.
It was a moment Harness Jr. hadn’t talked about since, but one he has deeply appreciated amidst a battle not meant for any 15-year-old.
Tameka L. Hall-Harness had been sick only a week. Harness Jr. was never worried because it wasn’t uncommon for her to fall ill. Even when she was moved to ICU for the first time, her only son and eldest child of two remained in good spirits.
It was Oct. 17. It was game day and Harness Jr. was at school and in a good mood. Pascagoula would be traveling to Long Beach that evening to face the Bearcats.
Then he heard his name called over the intercom. When he stepped outside, he saw his father, Creevy Harness Sr., and cousin waiting for him.
“I saw him crying and that’s when I knew,” Harness Jr. recalled of the moment he saw his dad. “I had never seen my dad crying besides when my papa died. So I knew if he’s crying, somebody had to pass.”
Losing a mother is a numbing pain Lewis Sims knows all too well. Pascagoula’s 15th-year head coach lost his mom in July, just a couple of weeks before fall practice began.
“There’s nothing that can prepare you for it whether you’re 16 or 54,” Sims said. “You only got one mom, and if she’s no longer here with you, that’s a void you can never replace.”
Sims informed Harness Jr. he had no obligation to play that night, and that he would receive the full support of the staff and team with whatever he decided to do.
And Harness Jr. didn’t want to play. Not when he was with his mom that afternoon, surrounded by grieving family. The thought of a football game didn’t have space in the room.
Until it did. When it became more than just a game.
‘Straight-A kind of kid’
Harness Jr. gets his athleticism from his dad, who played on the dominant Moss Point teams of the 1990s. From his mother comes a standard that he’s always adhered to.
It’s manifested throughout his life in many ways. Harness Jr. won the school spelling bee in fourth grade and competed at the state level. He earned varsity playing time on special teams as a freshman through a consistent work ethic that quickly caught the eyes of the staff.
He makes straight A’s in the classroom. In the weight room he saw his bench press jump from 135 pounds to 270 in one year. The effort doesn’t go unnoticed.
“He’s a super smart, super-intelligent kid,” Sims said. “He’s a straight-A kind of kid. He shows up, he doesn’t miss practice, he doesn’t miss class, he doesn’t miss workout. He’s one of our hardest-working kids.”
Playing that night was about his mother. It was for the woman who had been, and still is, the force behind the drive so easily seen in Harness Jr.
“I don’t mean to pick favorites, but she was my favorite,” Harness Jr. said. “She had been there through thick and thin. When I felt down, she would pick me up. When I was up, she was there to celebrate with me. If my mom were here, she would want me to play. She wouldn’t want me sitting in here being sad.”
So he played.
‘I know what she expects’
The linebacker led the Panthers’ defense with a team-high 11 tackles and made three stops in the backfield. Pascagoula clobbered the Bearcats, 47-14, and ended a five-game skid in the process.
Then he went back to work. Harness Jr. would notch his third sack of the season a week later during a 42-0 home win over Pearl River Central.
He currently leads the team in total tackles and is doing so by a wide margin. Harness Jr. has no plans to slow down, either.
“I know what she expects of me and I especially got to deliver now,” Harness Jr. said. “I just got to keep holding myself to that standard, even when she’s not around.”
Harness Jr. has the full backing of his family, team, school and community. His entire team was present at the funeral, which would be another a particularly significant moment for him.
“We wrapped ourselves around him,” Sims said. “It meant something to the whole team because we were all grieving with him.”
There’s still plenty of runway in front of the kid wearing No. 32 at War Memorial. Harness Jr. is a running back by trade, and doesn’t totally dismiss the idea of someday going back.
But he likes to hit people.
And those around him enjoy the way Harness Jr. tackles life on the field, at school or at home. He admits linebacker is a good fit for him.
“I’m going to just keep the same work ethic and keep working as much as I did this past year,” Harness Jr. said. “I’m going to keep that same work ethic, if not more. Just more motivation to go hard.”
This story was originally published October 31, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
