Scoring Friday night was not a problem for the Poplarville Hornets as senior running back Jesse Pernell led the team to a 44-12 victory with three rushing touchdowns in the first half of the game, ending with 10 carries for 117 yards against the Lumberton Panthers. 

“The offensive line really showed up tonight,” Pernell said. “We came ready to play knowing what we could do and performed great.”

Panthers star running back Dre Coleman streaked twice for 70-yard touchdowns. He would have had three 70-plus yard touchdown runs, however, the last long run was called back due to a holding penalty on Lumberton.

“That is a great team. Everyone says you can’t run the ball on them, but we tried anyway. We weren’t going to back down,” Zach Jones, Lumberton High School head football coach, said.

The Hornets started the game off quickly for their second consecutive game of the season, scoring on a 10-yard pass to Austin Bolton with 9:03 left in the first quarter. Antonio Barnes, Hornets quarterback, threw another perfect pass in the hands of Evan Smith for 25-yards, scoring their second touchdown on their first two drives.

“We have a lot of confidence in our quarterback,” Jay Beech, Poplarville High School’s head football coach, said. “He can do some amazing things out on the field and we want the ball in his hands.”

Barnes ended the game with three passing touchdowns, the last one going to Hornets Canaan Ray for a 32-yard touchdown.

The Panthers did not take it easy on the Hornets, utilizing speedy running back Coleman multiple times throughout the game to maintain their motivation for the rest of the battle.

“We know we got a special player on our team,” Jones said. “He is a terrific talent. He showed everyone what he can do, we just need to capitalize on some other opportunities in the future.”

The defense for Poplarville showed up Friday night against the Panthers, allowing only 12 points scored on two 70-yard plays.

“Our defense was stout tonight, but we need to get more consistent. They played a great game and if we can touch up on a couple more things, we will be alright for the rest of the season,” Beech said.

Austin Bolton, Poplarville running back, injured his ankle going into halftime. Bolton said it is not a serious injury, but the Hornet was taken out of the game for the remainder of the game.

“When he went out, I knew I had to step up my game,” Pernell said. “He is our best back, so I felt like I had to rise up even more to help my team get the victory.”

The Poplarville Hornets come out of Friday night with a 2-1 record and take on Stone High School next Friday at 7 p.m.