The Poplarville Hornets found a groove in their running game and stuck to it against Greene County High School. The Hornets scored all of their points on the ground in their 60-13 win.

Hornet’s running back Austin Bolton led the team in rushing, gaining 247 yards on just 12 carries while totaling a hat trick of end zone appearances against the Wildcats.

Greene County could not find any openings in their running or passing games, totaling 121 rushing yards—compared to Poplarville’s 590—and 73 passing yards, which was equivalent to the Hornets.

The game seemed to be one-sided right out of the gate, as Poplarville got off to a quick 27-point lead in the first quarter, never easing off their efforts.

For the first time this season, Hornets’ Chris Fowler reached the paydirt on Friday. And to make things even better for the junior running back, he marched in the end zone three times on his five carries for 61 yards to tie Bolton with the most touchdowns of the night.

Just like Fowler, another Hornets’ running back, Tyson Holston, found an open gap and out-ran the Wildcat defense to cap a 39-yard run for his first touchdown of the season.

Senior captain Jesse Pernell joined the touchdown frenzy with two of his own while pounding through 128 yards on 13 carries.

However, some of the scoring drives for Poplarville would not have been possible without the help of their defense. Hornets’ cornerback Aritaeus Johnson and free safety Camden Ray both robbed the opposing quarterback with an interception while five other Hornet defenders attributed to the five total sacks on Friday.

Poplarville heads into their sixth game of the year on Friday, facing Forrest County Agricultural High School with hopes of building upon their five-game winning streak.