By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

POPLARVILLE — For the first time in the history of the school, Poplarville High will open a football season as the defending state champions.

Poplarville finished last season at 13-2 overall in that historic campaign, beating Louisville 29-28 in an exciting Saturday afternoon showdown in the Class 4A state championship game at t M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi in the state title tilt.

The Hornets enter year 12 of the Jay Beech era with its sights set squarely on defending its crown.

“Winning the state championship was very fun,” explained Beech. “It’s fun. We got a lot of attention, and there’s a lot of sense of pride built up. They want to continue that. They want to have that feeling again.”

And make no mistake about it, Poplarville is loaded.

Offensively, the Hornets return perhaps the best player in Class 4A this season in junior running back Ty Keys.

If he never played another game during his final two years of eligibility, Keys has already cemented his legacy in Hornet history after limited time in just his freshman and sophomore seasons.

After missing almost all of the regular season after a pre-season injury last year, Keys had 565 rushing yards on 101 carries with seven touchdowns in just five games as he helped guide Poplarville to its first-ever state football championship.

Keys was named the Most Valuable Player of the game when Poplarville captured a thrilling 29-28 win over perennial state power Louisville in the Class 4A state title tilt at M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi.

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.

Up front on the line, the Hornets now have Sam LeJeune leading the way. He is back in action in the “Southern Six” again after a tumultuous season last year that started off at St. Stanislaus. However, he was dismissed from the school and the team mid-season, making him ineligible for the “Sweet 16 in the Southern 6” list this season.

The 6-foot-4, 280-pound junior LeJeune is rated a four star recruit by some services. He heads into this season with offers from Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Florida State and Arkansas among others.

Linebacker Ayden Harmon returns as well, after he finished his juinor season last year with 134 total tackles, which was one of the top stop marks in South Mississippi, with 11.5 tackles for a loss. He tallied four sacks, one interception, four pass deflections, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

In addition, on special teams, place-kicker Jaxon Schulz is back after a solid sophomore season in which he was 57-for-60 on PATS and 2-for4 on field goals.

“We’re not worried about the state championship, we’re not talking about defending the title, we’re not talking about anything like that,” Beach added. “We’re just talking about being the best versions of ourselves, the best possible version of this 2025 team. Whatever potential the good Lord has given us, we’re just trying to reach that fullest potential, and that’s with focus, intensity, and passion at practice.”

Poplarville will kick off Beech’s 12th season at the helm of the Hornets at home with its first-ever meeting against West Harrison on Friday, Aug. 29th.