It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but the Poplarville Hornets had no problem doing just that on Friday. Everything went their way against the Cougars as they made off with a 44-20 win. The result was nothing new for Poplarville, who have now won six matchups by 24 points or more so far this season.
Poplarville found their leader in underclassman Tylan Keys, who rushed for 175 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 10.9 yards per carry. Keys is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in the last eight games he's played. Another player making a difference was Lane Amacker, who gained 80 total yards and two touchdowns.
Lawrence County's lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Ahmad Hardy, who rushed for 181 yards while picking up 9.1 yards per carry. Hardy has been hot recently, having posted 100 or more rushing yards the last eight times he's played. Kannon Cato was another key contributor, rushing for 87 yards and a touchdown on only ten carries.
The win (which was Poplarville's third in a row) raised their record to 10-3. They've been dominating during the games in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 28.67 points. As for Lawrence County, their loss dropped their record down to 7-6.
Poplarville will be staying on the road on Friday to face off against Columbia at 7:00 p.m. on November 24th. One thing working in Columbia's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last seven contests. Lawrence County does not have any more games scheduled as of now.