By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director
POPLARVILLE — Friday night, Poplarville plays in its ninth Class 4A South State championship game in the past 10 seasons.
And the Hornets just hope that when all the dust settles at Walter Payton Field in Columbia, they’ll be headed back to their sixth state championship game in that same span.
Poplarville travels just up the road a bit to the county seat of Marion County for the second time in less than a month this week, and once again a daunting task awaits against unbeaten Columbia. The Wildcats dispatched the Hornets 49-28 in the Region 8-4A and regular season finale for both squads on Halloween eve.
Columbia sits at 13-0. and would tie a program record with their 14th win with its second victory over the defending Class 4A state champions this season. The Wildcats went 14-1 two years ago but fell to Louisville 19-6 in the Class 4A state championship game that season.

Poplarville went 13-2 last year and wrestled that Gold Ball away from Louisville with an exciting 29-28 decision.
The Hornets sit at 8-4 so far as they take aim on their sixth Class 4A South State title since 2016.
In the first meeting between the two teams this year, Columbia running back Tra Lewis ran for 167 yards and four touchdowns in the winning effort, including a 32-yard scoring run just over mid-way through the fourth period to seal the deal after the Hornets had cut the deficit to 41-28. Columbia led almost entirely throughout the game, including by the final three touchdown advantage on three separate occasions in the second half.
“The last game really has no effect on this game. Every week is its own week. What we’re going to do is go out, prepare the best that we can and get ready to play a physical game,” Columbia head coach Chip Bilderbeck said. “There’s a lot of tradition in that program, but there’s a lot of tradition in our program. Everyone’s going to talk about the two games — last year (in the playoffs and this year’s game) — but none of that matters. What matters is getting out and having a great week of preparation.”

Both teams are coming off impressive wins last week, as Hornet junior running back Ty Keys ran for 436 yards and seven touchdowns as Poplarville smacked Region 7-4A rival McComb 55-20 on the road in the Class 4A South State semifinal round.
The decision was a measure of revenge for the Hornets, after the Tigers nipped PHS 35-34 in the regular season.
Meanwhile, home-standing Columbia remained unbeaten and extended its win streak to 13 straight with a 41-6 pounding of Pass Christian. Columbia pulled away from the Pirates on a three-touchdown run in the first five minutes of the third quarter en route to the big win.

Running back Ashton Daniels carried the ball 15 times for 110 yards with two touchdowns in the win, while versatile CHS standout Tra Lewis not only ran for 84 yards and converted a two-point conversion, but he recorded 11 tackles, forced a fumble and had a 26-yard interception return for a touchdown. Quarterback Clyde Peters ran 10 times for 128 yards and two touchdowns.
The winner of this game will face the survivor of the North State championship contest between Kosciusko (11-1) and Louisville (10-2) for the Class 4A State Championship at Davis-Wade Stadium in Starkville on the campus of Mississippi State next week. This one is also a rematch from the regular season, as Louisville beat Kosciusko 29-25 six weeks ago.