Lawrence County hasn't had much luck against Poplarville recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Cougars will challenge the Hornets at 7:00 p.m. Lawrence County has given up an average of 43 points per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
It was a proper cat-fight when Lawrence County duked it out with McComb on Friday. The Cougars might be feeling deja-vu: they lost 42-7 to the Tigers, which was the same score (and result) they got the week prior. While losing is never fun, the Cougars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Mississippi football rankings (they are ranked 184th, while the Tigers are ranked 26th).
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Poplarville, who bounced back after a loss on the road on October 3rd. They breezed past South Pike to the tune of 62-24 on Friday. That 38 point margin sets a new team best for the Hornets this season.
Lawrence County better keep an eye on Tylan Keys. He was instrumental in Poplarville's win, rushing for 217 yards and three scores while picking up 9.9 yards per carry. Keys was no stranger to the big play, taking off on a dash that went for 64 yards. Remy Naquin was in the mix too, providing Poplarville with two TDs.
Poplarville was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 364 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 220 rushing yards in six consecutive games.
Poplarville didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Jt Graham and Lennox Beech. Beech also made seven total tackles, which is notable because Poplarville is 3-1 when he posts at least three total tackles, but 1-2 otherwise.
Lawrence County's defeat dropped their record down to 0-8. As for Poplarville, they now have a winning record of 4-3.
Lawrence County might still be hurting after the 44-20 loss they got from Poplarville in their previous meeting back in November of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Keys, who rushed for 175 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 10.9 yards per carry. Now that the Cougars know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
