By STAN CALDWELL/Sports Writer

HATTIESBURG — Will the third time be the charm for Poplarville against Louisville in the Class 4A State Championship Game?

The Hornets will play for that elusive state title in their fifth appearance in the 4A state finals – the third time against the Wildcats – at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at M.M. Roberts Stadium on the Southern Miss campus. It marks the fifth trip to the state title tilt in the past nine seasons overall for the Hornets.

“They’re just a tradition-rich program with good athletes that love to play football,” said head coach Jay Beech, whose team sports a 12-2 record. “They’re a well-coached team, and they put a lot into their program. No doubt, we’re playing one of the best teams in the state.”

Twice before Poplarville and Louisville have met for a state championship, and both times were agonizing defeats in which the Hornets led in the fourth quarter, only to see the Wildcats rally.

In 2018, in the first championships held at USM, Louisville scored the go-ahead touchdown early in the final period, and stopped the Hornets twice, once on a fourth-down, the other on a fumble.

In 2020, at Jackson, Louisville scored a touchdown with 36 seconds left in the game, then scored the winning points on a PAT run for a 15-14 victory.

The challenge this time may be even more daunting. The Wildcats come to Hattiesburg with a 13-1 record that includes games against heavyweights such as West Point, Starkville and Noxubee County, who handed them their only defeat, 28-13 on September 27.

Louisville is the two-time defending state champion in Class 4A, which upped the title total to 12 in school history, tied with West Point for most of any program in the state.

Traditionally, Louisville leans on its defense, and this season’s edition may be one the best. The Wildcats are giving up just 11.7 points per game, they have 114 tackles for loss and 35 sacks.

Beech said he’s tweaked his team’s offense since its last loss, in the regular-season finale to Greene County.

“We just got whipped by Greene County,” said Beech. “We played very poorly. We had missed assignments on offense, on special teams, and they beat us in single coverage on defense.

“We just went back to work and put it behind us. We put in a few offensive wrinkles and some new coverages. And getting Tylan Keys back last week really helped. He helps finish our offense.”

Indeed, after a sensational freshman season in 2023 when he rushed for 1,222 yards and 24 touchdowns, Keys has only played in four games this season with various injuries.

But he was a big factor in Poplarville’s 24-21 victory over Forest last week in the South State finals, rushing 25 times for 159 yards and two touchdowns.

However, the guy who makes the Hornets go offensively is senior quarterback Sydney Blackmon, whose skills are ideally suited to the Wing-T offense the Hornets run.

Blackmon has completed 37 of 69 passes (53.6 percent) for 864 yards, only nine touchdowns, but just four interceptions. And he’s run 101 times for 460 yards and six TDs.

“Everything goes through him,” said Beech. “He runs the ball, and gets the tough yards, and he’s good in the passing game, when we need it. He’s got a good instinct for the game, and if a guy is open, he can get the ball to him. He makes good decisions.”

While Keys has been out, other Poplarville running backs have picked up the slack. Senior Nick Miller has run for 1,097 yards and 14 touchdowns, and senior Zack Case has rushed for 843 yards and 10 scores.

Offensively, Louisville leans to the run, although senior quarterback Xavier Hunt has thrown for 1,155 and 12 touchdowns, but he also has eight picks. Leading rusher for the Wildcats is freshman Zayden Jernigan with 1,386 yards and 21 TDs.

Poplarville hasn’t been back to the finals since that 2020 heartbreaker, so there is no one on the Hornets’ current roster who has played in a Division I (FBS) stadium.

But Beech has engrained the expectation of playing in such an environment into the culture he’s built at Poplarville, and he says it won’t phase them.

“When you sign up for football at Poplarville High, you expect to play in big games in big-time environments,” said Beech. “And, besides, after about the first play, once you get into the rhythm of the game, you play it like any other football game.”