Prep Roundup: Poplarville earns ‘memorable’ win, OG-Gulfport decided in 2nd half
Poplarville 31, South Pike 20
For the fourth consecutive season, the Poplarville football team will be playing for a Class 4A South State title.
And how they got to this point may be one of the most impressive achievements of Jay Beech’s successful five-year tenure as head coach.
Poplarville (8-5) stunned previously undefeated South Pike 31-20 on Friday to earn the right to host the Class 4A South State title game against Lawrence County. South Pike’s season ended with a 13-1 mark.
The victory gives Poplarville its fourth consecutive trip to the Class 4A South State title game, and this is likely the Hornets’ most unexpected trip to this round.
“It was a very hard fought game,” Beech said. “We did it against overwhelming odds and a big time favorite. We finished the game with a gutty performance. It was one of the most memorable games won here at Poplarville. I’ll remember it forever. I’m just speechless.”
Senior fullback Zac Owen was the star on offense for Poplarville, running 23 times for 138 yards and four touchdowns. As a team, the Hornets accounted for 404 yards on the ground.
The game got off to a bumpy start for Poplarville when South Pike senior quarterback Dontavious Turner completed an 81-yard touchdown pass to Alex Adams on the Eagles’ first play of the game.
Turner, a speedy Southern Miss commit, also added touchdown runs of 81 and 25 yards.
Torry Polk intercepted Turner late to finish off the victory and spark a celebration in Poplarville.
“We’re going to celebrate for a couple of days and get back and practice on Thanksgiving again,” Beech said.
Oak Grove 42, Gulfport 24
Gulfport kept Oak Grove within striking distance in the first half on Friday, but the Warriors scored on their first three second-half possessions on their way to a win over the Admirals in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs.
While Gulfport’s season came to a close, Oak Grove advanced to play at Petal in Class 6A South State.
Gulfport had a chance to tie it up just before the half when it had first down at the Oak Grove 17, but the Admirals could only manage two incomplete passes and a sack on third down. On fourth down, Tres Ladner kicked a 40-yard field goal to pull the Admirals within four points at 14-10 with 12 ticks remaining before halftime.
“That kind of hurt us,” Gulfport coach John Archie said. “We kind of lost momentum. We needed to capitalize on the field position; we missed out on it.
“They made more plays than we did in the second half. We just couldn’t get the momentum back. They got the ball rolling, and we just couldn’t keep up with them.”
The Warriors’ first two touchdowns of the second half featured senior QB Damon Stewart on a 31-yard scoring toss and a 32-yard keeper to give the visitors a 28-10 lead. The Warriors recovered an Admirals’ fumble near midfield on the ensuing kickoff. Oak Grove wasted little time, scoring on the fifth snap of the the drive with a 17-yard scoring toss from Stewart to Tavion Smith for a 35-10 lead early in the fourth quarter.
The Admirals responded with a four-play drive, highlighted by a 45-yard toss from Cade Crosby to Tommie Johnson. Tyran Gable scored from six yards out on the fourth snap, and the Admirals trailed 35-17.
The teams swapped scores to close out the game with the Warriors in full control.
Crosby led the Admirals, completing 12 of 27 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns. Gable finished with 14 carries for 67 yards and a touchdown.
The Admirals season ended with a 10-3 record, and a win in the first round of the playoffs, a feat the Admirals had not accomplished in nine years.
“We’re on the right track to building our program and becoming one of the premier programs in the State,” Archie said.
For Oak Grove, Stewart completed eight of 12 passes for 165 yards and three touchdowns. Stewart added another 65 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. Nick Milsap rushed for 88 yards and Robinson added 71 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Richton 25, Resurrection 13
Richton (9-4) scored all 25 points in the second half to rally past Resurrection in the Class 1A playoffs in Gautier. Resurrection (9-3) built a 13-0 lead at the half behind a 39-yard touchdown run by Zack Switzer and a pair of field goals by Adam Holland.
Little went right for the Eagles in the second half as Richton senior QB Dylan Farve directed the rally with touchdown runs of 18 and 40 yards.
The RCS season comes to a close while Richton moves on to play at Lumberton in Class 1A South State.
This story was originally published November 23, 2019 at 12:24 AM.
