Last week the Hornets claimed the top seed for the 7-4A district, beating Purvis 38-6 and gaining confidence as they punch their ticket to the playoffs.

However, in order to hold its undefeated district record, the Poplarville Hornets will need to conquer the Columbia Wildcats this Friday, who are 0-4 in district play and 1-7 overall. The Wildcats have not seen a win after defeating East Marion High School 41-14 on Aug. 26.

Although the two teams are on opposite sides of the district rankings, they do have one thing in common; they are both led by sophomore quarterbacks.

Poplarville Head Football Coach Jay Beech previously said that his quarterback, Antonio Barnes, doesn’t look like an underclassmen on the field because of his poise in the pocket and ability to go through his reads. With Barnes going 26-for-49 on the season for 538 yards and seven passing touchdowns, it might seem that Beech does not utilize Barnes as much as he should. However, with the Hornets’ running back corps in the backfield, and a defense that has allowed a mere 32 points in the past four games, Poplarville has not had to resort to their passing plays. Instead, the Hornets game plan has been to run out the clock, averaging a 27.7 point lead in each of their last seven games.

“I have great confidence in Antonio,” Beech said after Barnes threw 8-of-11 for 121 yards and three touchdowns against Lumberton on Sept. 2. “I know I can put the ball in his hands and the rest of the team feels the same way.”

The Wildcats’ quarterback, Rapheal Luter, comes into Friday’s game with 638 total passing yards and six touchdowns with nine interceptions. Overall, his quarterback rating is 51.3. Wildcats’ running back Fredrick Peters assists the young quarterback with his team-leading ground game. He averages 104.5 yards per game and has a total of seven touchdowns this season.

Also, fellow running back Antonio James takes equal snaps from the backfield and has turned in four touchdowns along with 468 yards.

Poplarville will host its last district clash against Columbia Friday at 7 p.m.