By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

POPLARVILLE — Poplarville’s Ty Keys is the recipient of our third “Baria Law Firm Game Ball of the Week” as presented by SouthMiss6 Sports.

Every week throughout the end of the school year, we will honor student/athletes across the “Southern Six” with our “Game Ball of the Week” sponsored by David Baria, Attorney-Mediator.

Keys, the standout sophomore running back for the Hornets, was named the Most Valuable Player of the game over the weekend when Poplarville captured the first state football championship in school history with a thrilling 29-28 win over perennial state power Louisville.

In the historic victory, Keys finished with 130 yards rushing on 23 carries and a touchdown. He also converted a two-point conversion and had a kickoff return for a touchdown and was named the “Most Valuable Player” in the game.

After missing the first 10 games this season with an injury suffered in pre-season training camp, Keys returned to his productive ways of his freshman season in leading PHS to its fifth state title appearance in the past nine seasons as he finished the campaign with 565 yards rushing and eight touchdowns in just four games.

He was also a big factor in Poplarville’s 24-21 victory over Forest in the Class 4A South State finals, rushing 25 times for 159 yards and two touchdowns.

Veteran PHS head coach Jay Beech said “Getting Ty Keys back last week really helped. He helps finish our offense.”

“Ty is the tailback that we needed that can break one and the other guys stepped up as well. This was a total team win,” Beech said after the state title win.

After a sensational freshman season in 2023, when Keys rushed for 1,222 yards on 148 carries with 24 touchdowns, Keys’ got offers so far that include Mississippi State, Boston College, Oregon, Ole Miss and Penn State as he heads for his junior season for the Hornets.

The Baria Law Firm provides a beacon of trust and reliability in a complex legal landscape. Our firm’s unwavering dedication to you is at the core of everything we do. Choose David Baria of Baria Law as your legal ally, and let us handle the details while you focus on what matters most. Reach out to David at 228-395-8303 or dbaria@barialaw.com and at https://barialaw.com.