By SAM STAFF/Sports Writer

For the ninth time in the past 10 seasons, Poplarville is headed to the Class 4A South State championship game.
Hornet junior running back Ty Keys ran for 347 yards and six touchdowns Friday night as defending Class 4A state champion Poplarville smacked Region 7-4A rival McComb 55-20 on the road in the Class 4A South State semifinal round.
The win keeps the Hornets’ hopes alive for back-to-back state titles, and PHS will now face yet another region foe in the Class 4A South State title tilt as it heads to unbeaten Columbia next week with a trip to the state finals on the line.
Remy Naquin and J.T. Graham each had one scoring run apiece to complement Keys in the winning effort. Keys had all five scoring runs for the Hornets in the first half as they raced out to a 35-12 halftime lead over a Tiger team that handed them a loss in the regular season 35-34 six weeks ago also here at Moore Field.

McComb’s season ends at 10-2.
Poplarville stands 8-4 on the season, while Columbia is 12-0 after a 41-6 thumping of Pass Christian Friday night.
Laurel 24, Stone 21
Laurel’s Kenneth Jeronimo nailed a 23-yard field goal as the final horn expired to push the Golden Tornadoes past home-standing Stone 24-21 Friday night.

The decision, in the Class 5A South State semifinals at A.L. May Stadium in Perkinston on the campus of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, moves Laurel to just 6-6 on the season overall but more importantly into the Class 5A South State finals for the second time second time in three seasons. The golden Tornadoes have won six straight games since starting the season off at 0-6.
The Tomcats end the season at 8-4.
Laurel got 123 yards rushing and one touchdown run from running back Desmond Hosey in the win. Through the air, Golden Tornado quarterback Brysen Bivens threw for 179 yards and two scores.
The contest was knotted up 14-14 at halftime, thanks to scoring runs by Tomcat quarterback Zander Howard and Tomcat running back Ayden Green

Laurel countered with two touchdown passes from Bivens to Zechariah Jenkins to end the first half in that deadlock.
In the third quarter, the Tomcats missed a 33-yard field goal on their first possession and later fumbled with 1:38 left in the quarter, which set up a 10-yard rushing touchdown from Hosey with :20 seconds left in the quarter to put the Golden Tornadoes up 21-14 entering the final period.
An eight-yard scoring dash from Stone running back Amarion Fairley with 5:34 left in the game tied things up at 21-21 and set the stage for the climactic Geronimo boot to end the game.

Green ran for 113 yards and the one score.
Laurel will travel to Brookhaven for the Class 5A South State championship contest next week at King Field.