By Stan Caldwell/Sports Writer

POPLARVILLE — As it has been for the past three seasons, the magic number for Poplarville is 5, as in the Number 5 jersey worn by Ty Keys.

Now a senior, Keys is back playing Superman for the Hornets, and they needed all of his magic Friday night to get past Hancock 49-32 at the Hornet’s Nest on the PHS campus. Poplarville improved to 3-0 for the season, while Hancock dropped to 1-2.

“I just think the intensity in practice and in the game this week was a little down,” said Poplarville coach Jay Beech. “But we’re 3-0, so we’re going to fix it and try to get better next week.”

Keys, who plans to sign with Miami, scored six touchdowns after the Hawks rolled out to an early 13-0 lead, beginning with an 87-yard kickoff return late in the first quarter.

“Oh, man, I said before the kickoff, that if they kick the ball to me, I was going to take it to the crib,” said Keys. “And, for sure, that’s what happened.”

But before then, it was Hancock that had its way with the Hornets behind senior quarterback Justin Wedgeworth. Employing a spread offense that utilized six different receivers, Wedgeworth carved up Poplarville early on.

Hancock took the opening kickoff of the game and moved smoothly down the field on an eight-play, 75-yard scoring drive, with Wedgeworth scoring on a 1-yard run after converting a third-and-2 with a 5-yard pickup.

The two big plays were a 25-yard pass to senior Aiden Harvenek and a 16-yard toss to senior Bryson Thompson, with 14 yard tacked on when Poplarville was flagged for roughing the passer.

“We knew we had to come out physical up front, and my o-line held it up for me early,” said Wedgeworth. “They gave me some time, and I was able to make some plays.”

Wedgeworth finished the night with 28 completions in 46 attempts for 444 yards and four touchdown passes.

“Their quarterback was really good,” said Beech. “He eluded pressure, kept his eyes downfield and made a lot of great throws.”

The Hawks successfully converted an onside kick, but were denied on a fourth-down attempt at the Poplarville 14-yard-line.

But the Hornets returned the favor after driving to the Hawks’ 16-yard-line, where an offensive face-mask penalty turned a potential fourth-and 4 into a fourth-and 19.

Poplarville got 14 yards on a pass from junior Trac Smith to sophomore Kayden Bradford, but that wasn’t enough to retain possession.

Wedgeworth got the Hawks’ drive going with a 31-yard scramble, then converted a fourth-and-22 for a 33-yard touchdown pass to senior Aspen Farve. But the PAT kick was blocked, and then Keys took the next play to the house on the ensuing kickoff.

Poplarville adjusted its pass rush, and began to disrupt Wedgeworth in the second quarter. After making good on 12 of his first 14 passes for 160 yards, he was held to just 5 of 15 for 43 yards.

“They got after our quarterback a little bit, hit him a few times, and I think he may have gotten rattled a bit,” said Hancock coach Michael King. “And we had a horrible second quarter, with the kickoff return we gave up.

“If you look at the score, a two-touchdown game, I’d love to have that one back, and only be down one score here at the end with a chance to win.”

In all, the Hornets sacked Wedgeworth four times for 16 yards in losses, and the Hawks had no luck running the ball, netting just 16 yards on 14 rushes.

“Give them credit,” said King. “They started bringing pressure, and when we couldn’t run between the tackles, when they would drop eight in a three-man front, it really hurt our passing game, because we couldn’t run the ball.”

After forcing a Hancock punt on a three-and-out, the Hornets needed just one burst of magic from Keys, a 58-yard scoring ramble right up the middle, to take the lead for good after the successful PAT.

For the game, Keys ran 21 times for 180 yards and five rushing touchdowns.

“I just thank my o-line,” said Keys. “We worked hard, we worked together and we worked as a team. Those guys work their butts off, so it’s nothing new. They’re built for this, and they grind for it.”

It was the Poplarville passing game that gave the Hornets’ a comfortable halftime cushion on two scoring drives that totaled 41 seconds combined.

Taking over at the Hancock 42 after a short punt, with 2:49 to play in the second quarter, Smith immediately found senior Aaron Graham for a 24-yard pickup, then Keys covered the remaining 18 yards on the next play for a touchdown.

Getting the ball right back on another short punt, Poplarville drove 43 yards on three plays, scoring on a 28-yard pass from Smith to junior Semaj Jamison with 50.5 seconds left.

“When a team does a good job against the run, and brings all their DBs up, then we’re going to try to hit them with passing game,” said Beech. “And we were able to do that.”

Having shown Hancock the pass, Poplarville went back to its bread-and-butter to extend its lead in the third quarter, taking the opening kickoff of the third quarter on a 10-play, 60-yard march, all runs, with Keys scoring on a 6-yard run.

Senior Sam LeJeune, a Florida State commit, knocked down a fourth-down pass after the Hawks made a brief foray into Hornet territory, setting up a six-play, 51-yard drive with Keys scoring from 5 yards out.

“We dominated most of the way, but I’m not going to lie, they kicked us with some passes, and I missed, like, a million sacks,” said LeJeune. “But I got two PBUs and blocked kick. We’re 3-0, feeling diabolical, feeling malicious. We’ve got a lot to work on, but, hey, we’re 3-0.”

But it didn’t come easy, as Hancock picked itself up, down 42-13, and made a game of it in the fourth quarter.

“We just didn’t quit,” said Wedgeworth. “Coach King tells us to play hard, don’t quit, play until the whistle blows, and that’s what we did.”

Facing a third-and-8 from their own 39, Wedgeworth found junior Majia Talley along the right sideline, and Talley broke a tackle and outran the pursuit for a 61-yard touchdown play to end the third quarter.

Poplarville drove from its own 36 to a first down at the Hancock 20, but the Hawks stiffened and Smith’s only pass of the second half on fourth down was no good.

On the ensuing possession, the Hawks overcame two penalties, as Wedgeworth hooked up with Farve for a 92-yard touchdown pass. Farve proved to be Wedgeworth’s top receiver, with eight catches for 188 yards.

The Hornets regained the momentum after recovering an onside kick attempt near midfield, going 49 yard on fourth plays, with Keys scoring on a 6-yard run with 6:11 left in the game.

Hancock still had life, driving 66 yard on nine plays, with Wedgeworth connecting with Farve for a 4-yad scoring pass. But the Hornets recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the final 2:42 off the clock to nail down the win.

Poplarville will be back home next week, facing county rivals Pearl River Central for homecoming.

“This was a good test for our defense, and we knew it would be coming in,” said Beech. “I thought we played well at times, six, seven plays in a row, then we’d give up a big play, an we can’t do that, even if we’ve been paying well for a stretch.”