The Poplarville Hornets will venture away from home to face off against the Forest Bearcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Poplarville is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They took their matchup with ease, bagging a 49-20 victory over Forrest County Agricultural. Considering the Hornets have won four contests by more than 28 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Tylan Keys had another great game (as he tends to do), rushing for 287 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 13.0 yards per carry. He was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 65 yards.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Poplarville was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 465 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since the start of last season.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Poplarville's defense and their three sacks. The team can thank three different players for their defensive prowess: Nathan Brown, Titan Smith, and Sam LeJeune, who each picked up one sack apiece.
Meanwhile, Forest waltzed into their game on Friday with three straight wins... but they left with four. They walked away with an 18-7 win over the Warriors.
Forest didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off four passes before the game was over. Xavion Kincaid led the group effort, picking up two of those interceptions all by himself. Another thorn in Choctaw Central's side was Gregory Keeton, who picked up two sacks and made nine total tackles.
Poplarville's record now sits at 6-4. As for Forest, their record is now 9-2.
Poplarville came out on top in a nail-biter against Forest in their previous meeting back in November of 2024, sneaking past 24-21. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was the Bearcats' Javarious Lofton, who rushed for 38 yards and a pair of scores, and also threw for 179 yards and one TD on only 15 passes. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for the Hornets to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
