By Jesse Wright

POPLARVILLE — The Poplarville High School varsity football team wasted opportunities and struggled against St. Stanislaus’ impressive offense Friday and lost 33-21.

At the outset, the teams seemed evenly matched. The first quarter passed scoreless and, shortly after St. Stanislaus’ first touchdown at 9:33 in the second quarter, the Hornets answered with one of their own, and an extra point, leading for a while, 7 – 6. Although there were some impressive touchdowns by Jesse Pernell and Austin Bolton and Sye Blossman, there were not enough of them. Head Coach Jay Beech said as much after the game.

“We had a lot of opportunities we just didn’t take advantage of,” he said.

Twice, the Hornets got within 10 yards of the Rockachaws’ end zone, and twice, they were beaten back.

“You just can’t do that with St. Stanislaus,” he said.

But, despite the loss, Beech said he was happy with the season. The team is young, and they made district play and Beech said fans can expect some great things next season.

“We’re very happy,” Beech said. “We were very happy with every win we got, and we built our foundation.”

Pernell, one of the standout players this season, will be a senior next year, and Bolton, too, will return as a junior as will Allan Holliday. However, the team will lose running back Tyler Fricke, who is a graduating senior.