By STAN CALDWELL/Sports Writer

POPLARVILLE – Jay Beech is well into his 11th season as head football coach at Poplarville High, and this one is going much like the previous 10.

The Hornets remained undefeated in Region 8-4A and appear firmly on track for a deep postseason run after a hard-fought 21-19 victory over Pass Christian Friday night at Hornet Field.

Poplarville improved to 6-1 overall, 2-0 in region; the Pirates (3-4, 0-2) lost their third consecutive game, all by one score or less, and have their work cut out for them to reach the Class 4A playoffs.

“Pass Christian has a very explosive offense, and I knew we’d be in a battle tonight,” said Beech. “We did a good job of tacking and staying in our cover zones on defense. It was a big challenge for us on defense.

“Defense won the game for us. Our offense did enough. They scored when we had to. But the defense kept us in the game.”

The Hornets have gotten it done so far this season despite a raft of injuries, that began even before the season began when sophomore Tylan Keys, who was expected to carry them on offense, broke his collarbone and has not played a down this season.

In his stead, Poplarville has turned to a running back-by-committee approach, and it’s been effecting. Five runners totaled 115 yards on the ground, not great by Hornet standards, but combined with timely passing, proved effective.

“We’ve got a lot of tough kids rolling in and out,” said Beech. “They play as hard as they can, and we’ve been able to come away with some victories.”

Keys dressed out for the first time this season, but did not play. Beech said he hopes to have his talented back in the lineup next week

This one was a scrap, however, from start to finish, as Pass showed off an offense that at times bordered on explosive.

“The effort is unquestionably there,” said Pass Christian coach Jeff Stockstill. “We’ve lost four games by one score. The ball just hasn’t been bouncing our way, but I told the guys that with the level of effort they’re playing, we’ll start catching those breaks.”

While Poplarville works on getting its injured players back on offense – the Hornets also had two starters out on their offensive line – the defense has carried much of the load.

“Coach Beech tells us every week, it’s next man up,” said junior linebacker Ayden Harden . “We come in every week and put the work in, and try to get better each game.”

That defense was tested early when Beech opted to go for a fourth-and-1 from the Hornet 26-yard-line, and came up short.

Backed up in its own end, the Hornets answered with a sack on third down and a fumble recovery on fourth down.

An exchange of punts gave Poplarville the ball their own 42, and that’s when the x-factor in the Hornets’ offense, the passing game, stepped up in a big way.

After an encroachment penalty gave them 5 yards, senior quarterback Sidney Blackman looked left then found senior wide receiver Jeremiah Moss wide open to the right side, and Moss dashed untouched for a 58-yard touchdown play.

“The came and bit real hard on the fake,” said Blackman. “I just dropped it right over the top of the cornerback, right in his hands.”

Jaxon Schultz converted the kick for the PAT, and that would be a big factor in the game.

That’s because the Pirates responded with an eight-play, 62-yard scoring drive, as sophomore quarterback Paris Trivillion began to find the range. However, the PAT kick was blocked, and Poplarville maintained its lead.

“Paris is a good football player, who’s only going to get better,” said Stockstill. “He was a little gun-shy out there at first, missed a few reads, but he showed a lot of resilience as the game went on and he started to get a good feel for the game.”

Trivillion converted four passes to senior Matthew Daniely, the fourth a 7-yard touchdown pass on a fade pattern to the right corner of the end zone. For the game, Trivillion was 13-of-23 passing for 124 yards and he ran 16 times for 55 yards and a touchdown.

“We just executed the game plan, what we’ve worked on in practice,” said Trivillion. “That’s the expectation when we come out. Their edge rushers and linebackers do a really good job , but we were able to get some things going in the second half.”

A fourth-down stop midway through the second quarter led to Poplarville’s second touchdown, an 11-play, 66-yard march, capped by Blackman’s second touchdown pass of the game, an 18-yard strike to Moss.

Once again, Schultz converted, and the Hornets went into halftime leading 14-6. The Hornets only tried six passes, but Blackman was good on four of them for 120 yards. Poplarville was also solid on third down, converting 6 of 11.

“That’s really where it’s all about,” said Blackman. “That’s make-or-break for your offense. You’ve got to get those few yards, the tough yards, on each drive. 

The Pirates came out of halftime determined to run right at the Poplarville defense, and they were able to do just that, taking the second half kickoff 70 yards on 12 plays, using up almost half of the third quarter.

Senior tailback Jacquez Alexander-Dedeaux had five carries for 24 yards on the drive, along with a 5-yard reception, and Trivillion converted a key third down with a 9-yard pass to junior A’Marie James, and had runs of 17 yards and an 8-yard scamper for the score.

This time, Pass tried for a two-point conversion, but Trivillion’s pass was wide of the mark, and the score remained 14-12.

“For the second week in a row, we missed the first PAT, and we chased that point all night,” said Stockstill. “But I’m really proud of our guys. As long as we get the effort we got tonight, we’ll be OK.”

Nevertheless, the Pirates got a stop and set off on another long march, getting three first downs, the third at the Poplarville 36.

But Poplarville stood tall this time, stopping Alexander-Dedeaux a yard short on a fourth-and-3 at the Hornet 27.

“Their quarterback was pretty good, but we were pretty much able to contain him most of the night,” said Harden. “That was a big stop right there.”

Once again, Blackman turned to the pass, starting the decisive drive with a 40-yard pass play to senior Zack Case. Senior Nick Miller had the key carries on Poplarville’s 8-play, 73-yard touchdown drive, including the score on a 2-yard run.

Once again Schultz converted for a 21-12 lead with 4:40 to play in the game.

Pass Christian wasn’t finished yet, though. Starting in Hornet territory at the 48-yard-line after a face mask call against the Hornets on the kickoff, Trivillion immediately connected with James for a 34-yard pass play to the Poplarville 14.

It took six more plays for the Pirates to get in the end zone, but Alexander-Dedeaux got it in from 2 yards out on fourth-and-goal with 1:25 remaining. Alexander-Dedeaux had 85 yards on 17 carries to lead Pass.

Trivillion got one final chance when Pass got a three-and-out after failing to recover the onside kick, but with just 27 seconds remaining and the ball at the Pirate 13, it was too much to overcome.

“It’s going to be really great when we get all of our pieces together,” said Blackman. “But in the meantime, we’ve done a great job of guys stepping and playing key positions at a young age.”

Poplarville will take a break from region play next week, travelling to Tylertown for a non-region contest. Pass Christian will be back on the road next week for a region clash at Moss Point.