Poplarville and Stone High battled until the very end

Poplarville pulled off a close win over previously undefeated Stone High on Friday night.

The Hornets defense held off a Stone rally in the last two minutes of the game to secure a 38-35 victory.

“I’m so happy we hung in there,” Poplarville coach Jay Beech said. “They were a great opponent, every time we scored they’d fight right back.”

Austin Bolton’s 10-yard touchdown run with 2:25 left to play put the Hornets up 38-35.

Six minutes later, Poplarville kicked a field goal to get within 35-31.

Jesse Pernell and Bolton each scored on 10-yard TD runs as Poplarville led 14-0 after the first quarter.

Stone climbed within 14-7 on a 25-yard touchdown pass.

Bolton’s second touchdown with 5:17 left in the half made it 21-7.

The Tomcats scored two touchdowns off punt returns in the second, tying the game at 21-21.

“That kept them in the game,” Beech said. “But we moved the ball well.”

Early in the third quarter, Terrion Avery scored to give the Tomcats a 28-21 lead.

Pernell scored with 6:07 left in the third quarter, tying the game 28-28.

Stone regained the lead at 35-28 after three quarters, but the Hornets scored the game’s last 10 points.

“We’re just going to enjoy this win for a couple of days,” Beech said.

This story was originally published September 9, 2016 at 10:48 PM with the headline "Poplarville and Stone High battled until the very end."