How Poplarville became the preeminent football program for South Mississippi
With Jay Beech at the helm, Poplarville High School football has become the model of consistency in South Mississippi.
If the Hornets win at North Pike at 7 p.m. on Friday in the third round of the Class 4A playoffs, they will have reached the state semifinal or championship round in five consecutive seasons.
Poplarville (8-3) is 55-14 during that stretch and 72-22 in Beech’s seven seasons as head coach.
While most Coast programs have been up and down with each season, Poplarville has proven to be a steady winner.
For Beech, it all comes down to the Wing-T and a new batch of players each year that are sold on the head coach’s plans.
“Our kids have bought into what we do each year, and they take pride in what we do,” Beech said. “We’ve been doing the same thing on offense for so long that we’ve been able to get better at it every year as far as coaching and as far as the kids executing it.”
Beech’s brand of offense has also proven perfect for the latter stages of the season.
“The Wing-T is a good system and it’s good for this time of year in the cold, wet weather. It’s done well for us,” Beech said. “(The players) know it’s a winning brand of football and winning is fun.”
Poplarville (8-3) isn’t quite as explosive on offense as it has been the last few years when players like Austin Bolton, who is now at Alcorn State, and Chase Shears were toting the ball, but the Wing-T seems to getting better by the week with multiple backs stepping up.
Junior fullback D.J. Richardbey, who is listed at 6-foot, 214 pounds, leads the Hornets in rushing with 130 carries for 1,082 yards and 15 touchdowns in 10 games played.
Junior Tyron Holston has been Poplarville’s best big-play back, accounting for 832 yards and eight touchdowns on just 70 carries. His average of 11.9 yards a carry ranks first on the team.
The veteran of the group, senior Gregory Swann, has run 104 times for 838 yards and 10 touchdowns.
“We’ve relied mostly on one guy in the past, but it’s really three equal backs there now,” Beech said. “We try to get them each even carries and I think it’s done well for us.”
Relying on three equal weapons in the ground game has put pressure on opposing defenses.
“I think they’ve got to be more balanced on defense,” Beech said. “They can’t overload one area and stop a certain play.”
Poplarville’s tough task at North Pike
Poplarville traveled to North Pike in the first round of the playoffs a year ago and it turned into a tight battle with the Hornets leaving Summit with a 23-20 victory.
The two teams meet Friday night in a game that will send the winner to the Class 4A South State title game.
Poplarville’s Wing-T will likely face one of its toughest challenges this season against a defense that features many of the same players it faced in 2019.
The Jaguars’ defense has given up an average of 14.3 points a game a year.
“They have a lot of experience on defense,” Beech said. “I think they pretty much have the same 11 guys that were there on the team when we played them. They’re tough again and they have a lot of big, strong kids. They have athletes at every position on defense.”
Poplarville defense playing well late
The Hornets will bring their own stout defense to North Pike after stopping South Pike 27-6 in Poplarville last week.
Since starting the season with a brutal non-region schedule that resulted in three losses to Jefferson Davis County, D’Iberville and Picayune, the Hornets have allowed 17 points or more only twice.
During that seven-game stretch, Poplarville has allowed eight points or fewer five times.
The Poplarville secondary had 14 interceptions this season, including four a piece for senior defensive backs Dante Buckley and Torry Polk.
Senior linebacker Mason Anderson, who has 73 tackles and, junior defensive end/linebacker Khalid Moore (69 tackles) have been steady all season long.
First-year defensive coordinator Jacob Aycock’s unit has given Poplarville a lift this season as it aims for the program’s first state championship.
“Our kids have played real hard (on defense),” Beech said. “Coach Aycock has done a great job of getting the kids ready and getting them in the right spots. We’ve been tackling well and getting some turnovers, too.”
After five consecutive years of being a play or two away from earning a championship trophy to bring back to Poplarville, Beech likes where his team stands after a pair of playoff victories.
“This team right here, they’re hungry to win,” Beech said. “Even though we’ve won a pretty good bit, they’re still hungry. I see that we’re a little more hungry than we were the past year or two.”
High school football schedule
All games at 7 p.m. on Friday
Poplarville at North Pike
Northwest Rankin at D’Iberville
Harrison Central at Oak Grove
Hattiesburg at Pascagoula
This story was originally published November 19, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
