Brothers reunite for season with Mississippi Brilla

CLINTON, Miss. (WLBT) - The Mississippi Brilla soccer team is made up of players from all over the world. But, two players have the same hometown and last name.

Joel and Seth Albritton were born and raised in Virginia and ever since the brothers moved to Mississippi to play soccer, they have enjoyed every second.

“I never got the chance to play with Brilla and this summer when I got the opportunity to, I jumped on it,” Seth said.

“It’s been awesome. It’s always fun to be able to play with a lot of different areas and countries even. It’s a really cool experience,” Joel said.

When the Albritton brothers hit the pitch, they become an unstoppable dynamic duo.

The brothers haven’t played on the same team since high school, and now that they are back together, they wouldn’t have it any other way.

“We’ve been anxiously waiting for an opportunity when we can play together again, and this is the first one,” Seth said.

“It’s like a built-in best friend,” Joel explained. “On the field, you say ‘You’re a family, you’re brothers, so you fight for each other.’ So, since he’s my actual brother, it’s a lot easier to take that to heart.”

This may be the brothers’ first time playing for Brilla, but the club’s history runs deep in the Albritton family.

“[We] grew up around soccer because of my dad and I wasn’t alive to see him play for Brilla but there has always like this cool legendary thing,” Joel said.

“Definitely my dad playing for Brilla played a big part in why I wanted to come here. Hearing stories from other people was an inspiration to play,” Seth said.

This summer wasn’t just a reunion for Seth and Joel but for their father as well.

“I played the first 4 or 5 years when Brilla was in existence… but we’ve been in Virginia for the last 19 years,” Jay Albritton said. “Even though it was 1000 miles away, it’s been a blessing for us, for my wife and me just to see our boys play together again.”

But the big question remains: Which brother is the better player?

“He’s worked really hard, but he will never really get up to that level where I am… and I don’t blame him for that, that’s just how it is,” Seth said jokingly.

“Me, for sure… it helps that I’m naturally way better than him,” Joel replied.

According to their dad...

“They both have different strengths but neither one is better than I am,” Jay said sarcastically. “They’re much much better than I ever was.”

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