Poplarville powers past Lawrence County 47-18

POPLARVILLE – The Poplarville Hornets believe they have some unfinished business to attend to.

After coming up short in last season’s Class 4A South State championship game, the Hornets are looking to get back to the state finals, as they did in four of the previous five seasons.

Poplarville cleared a big hurdle Friday night, knocking off previously undefeated Lawrence County 47-18 in a Region 7-4A showdown at the PHS field.

The Hornets, ranked fourth in the SB Live 4A rankings, improved to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in region. The Cougars dropped to 6-1 and 1-1.

“We definitely had some bright spots tonight, but we had some ugly ones as well,” said Poplarville coach Jay Beech. “Right now, we’re just focused on winning a (region) championship.”

Lawrence County played without its biggest weapon, junior tailback Ahmad Hardy, who has run for 1,178 yards in the Cougars’ six previous games. Hardy suffered a sprained ankle last week against Forrest County AHS and was unable to play Friday night.

“I felt like we played hard, but those guys over there are very physical, and we just couldn’t withstand their onslaught,” said Lawrence County coach Jesse Anderson.

“We’ll go back to the drawing board, try to correct some things, get some of our kids healthy, get (Hardy) back and move forward.”

It may not have mattered, the way Poplarville played on defense. The Hornets made life miserable for the Cougars, forcing three lost fumbles and getting a key fourth-down stop in the third quarter.

“First couple of drives, we kind of shot ourselves in the foot, with some offsides and missing some tackles, but we made up for it,” said senior linebacker Nakiel Trotter.

“We’re going to do everything we can to get back to the top. Every week, we’re going to build and keep building and progress every week to get back there. I just try to be everywhere I can, do whatever it takes to win.”

Poplarville also played without its leading rusher, senior Avan Jarvis, who was recovering from a bout of the flu, but his presence wasn’t missed, as seniors Maurice Travis and Benny Jarvis, picked up the slack.

Travis gained 151 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown, and Benny Jarvis added 89 yards on just five carries and scored twice on the ground.

“Coach told me I was going to have to come out and play fullback,” said Jarvis. “I just did whatever I had to do to get the job done.”

Poplarville doesn’t pass it much, but the Hornets were mighty effective when they did. Both of senior quarterback Matt Will two completions (in three attempts) went for touchdowns, a 40-yard play to Jarvis and a 16-yard touchdown pass to Travis.

Will also scored two touchdowns on the ground, a 4-yard run in the first quarter and an 8-yard burst for Poplarville’s final points of the night.

“This is a fun offense to play in,” said Will. “It’s not just handing the ball off, but there’s blocking and we got to throw it a little bit. We had a little of everything tonight. It’s really starting to click for us.”

Will should have been 3 for 3, as a wide-open Jarvis mishandled the first pass Poplarville tried for what would have been a 52-yard TD. But he was sure-handed the next time his number was called, and converted a 40-yard pass play midway through the second quarter.

“I came to the sideline, holding my head down a little bit,” said Jarvis. “My coach came over to me, told me to keep my head up and wait for the next play.”

Poplarville established its dominance right from the start. The Hornets won the pregame coin toss and took the ball, rather than deferring to the second half.

That decision paid immediate dividends, as the Hornets drove 51 yards on seven plays for a touchdown. Jarvis got the drive going with a 22-yard burst around left end, and Will capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run.

Lawrence County responded early in the second quarter after blocking what would prove to be Poplarville’s only attempt at a punt, getting the ball at the Hornet 23.

Junior quarterback Kannon Cato finished an eight-play scoring drive with a 1-run, but the PAT attempt was blocked, and the Hornets maintained a 7-6 lead.

It didn’t take them long to extend it. On the third play of the possession – just one play after Jarvis missed his first try at a touchdown reception – Travis broke up the middle, ran through several tackle attempts and dashed to the end zone for a 52-yard touchdown.

“I can’t thank anyone but the O-line for helping me get my yards,” said Travis. “This is the best line I’ve had to run behind, they move people. Tonight we had some penalties that hurt us. We’re always glad for a Hornet win, but there is always room for improvement.”

Jarvis’ 40-yard touchdown reception made it 20-6 at halftime, and the Hornets quickly added to that lead early in the second half, after recovering a Cougar fumble at the Lawrence County 30. Jarvis got the score on a 19-yard run.

Will connected with Travis for a 16-yard touchdown pass and Jarvis added another touchdown on a 35-yard run.

“It’s been so much fun to play with these guys,” said Will. “Every night, I tell these guys after they score, ‘you make my job easy; I just give you the ball and you go.’”

Between the two scores for Poplarville, Lawrence County got on the scoreboard when Cato scored on a sensational 70-yard run. Cato swept right end, broke through the defense and dashed across the field for the score.

“He tested us on the edge all night,” said Trotter. “He was a good quarterback, very tough.”

The Cougars added another score late in the game on a 40-yard scamper by sophomore Wesley Harris.

Lawrence County returns home next week against Sumrall, and Anderson hopes to have Hardy back for that game.

“That’s a Lawrence County football team; they’re not going to quit,” said Anderson. “We had things stacked against us tonight, but our kids gave us the effort we asked them to give us, and we have to be pleased with that.”

For his part, Beech wasn’t pleased with some aspects of his team’s game, and given how competitive the postseason in Class 4A is likely to be, he can be excused for that.

“I’m very proud of our team, glad we got the win, but I thought it was our sloppiest game of the year,” said Beech. “But we’ll live and learn, and move on to next week.”

Poplarville will be on the road next week, traveling to Brooklyn to take on Forrest County AHS.