The Poplarville Hornets (2-3, 0-0) open Division 8-4A play this Friday night at home against the Aggies of Forrest County AHS.  Last week, the Hornets dropped a close one to Lumberton 22-16.

In the game against Lumberton, Jiquan James scored on runs of four and six yards.  The defense added a safety in the fourth quarter to complete the tally.

James finished the game with 28 carries for 197 yards.

Poplarville head coach Chris Teal commented, “The game against Lumberton was a hard fought game for both teams.  We were driving late in the game but they held us on fourth down to stop our drive.”

The Hornets open division play with a favorite to win the division in Forrest County AHS.  Teal added, “They are a very good football team with nine returning starters on defense and seven returning starters on offense.  They have all their  skill players back except their quarterback.  They do so much stuff on both sides of the ball, we will have to work hard in practice all week to prepare for them.”

One thing that Teal hit on hard and is driving home to his team is the fact that all of the teams are 0-0 this week as they begin division play.

Teal stated, “On offense, we will have to execute a little better.  We run the Wing T so we will need to stay with our blocks a little longer.  We need to play hard on both sides of the ball.  We will have to fly to the football on defense.”

The Hornets escaped the game with Lumberton with no major injuries other than the typical bumps and bruises.  So, Poplarville should be a full strength when they square off with the Aggies.

Teal ended, “Besides playing hard, we have to play a perfect game throughout with no turnovers.  We need to hold onto the football and control the line of scrimmage to keep the ball out of their hands.  We need to play a great game against  a very good opponent.”

Game time is set for 7:30pm in Poplarville