The Poplarville Hornets defeated the Lawrence County Cougars 48-14 in Region 7-4A football action Friday night in Poplarville.

After Lawrence County took a 14-7 lead with just over two minutes remaining in the first half, Poplarville ran off 41 straight points to secure the Hornets’ second straight region championship.

With the win Poplarville finished the regular season with an overall mark of 9-1, and a perfect 5-0 record in region play. Lawrence County fell to 7-4 overall and 3-2 in the region.

With 2:31 left in the first half, Lawrence County’s Perez Tyler scored on a 6-yard run, giving the Cougars a brief 14-7 lead. After that, it was all Poplarville. Lawrence County would not pick up another first down until the Cougars’ final possession of the game, after the Hornets had reeled off six straight touchdowns.

Lawrence County grabbed a 7-0 lead early in the first period, when Tywan McLaurin stripped a Poplarville runner of the football, and returned it 95 yards for a TD.

Poplarville tied the game on an 84-yard Chase Shears run midway through the second quarter. Shears had a big night scoring on runs of 84, 23, and 19 yards. Quarterback Antonio Barnes and running back Cory Knight scored two touchdowns each for the Hornets.

With Greene County blowing out Sumrall 42-7, the Cougars earned the third seed in the final region standings behind Poplarville and Greene County respectively.

Lawrence County will travel to Rankin County next week to take on the Florence Eagles. Florence (4-7) captured second place in Region 6-4A with a 51-26 win over Lanier Friday night.

Story by Craig Davis