Head Coach: Jay Beech
2025 Record: 8-5
Region Record: 2-2, third in Region 7-4A
Classification: MHSAA Class 4A
2026 Season Opener: Aug. 21 at Vancleave
For most programs, losing five games one year after winning a state championship might feel like a significant step backward. At Poplarville, the Hornets still reached Thanksgiving.
That tells you almost everything you need to know about what Jay Beech has built. Poplarville followed its 2024 Class 4A state championship with an 8-5 season in 2025. The Hornets finished only third in Region 7-4A and had to spend the postseason on the road, yet they beat Forrest County AHS, Forest and McComb before finally falling 20-14 at Columbia in the South State championship game.
Now look at what returns. Senior running back Ty Keys rushed for an absurd 3,285 yards and 45 touchdowns as a junior and enters his final season committed to Miami. Senior defensive lineman Sam LeJeune is a four-star prospect committed to Florida State. Linebacker Lennox Beech intercepted four passes last season. Defensive back Semaj Jamison intercepted three.
Quarterback/athlete Trac Smith, running back Remy Naquin, tight ends Aaron Graham and Chadwick Brown, and a large group of linemen return from a team that was playing for another trip to the state championship game last November.
Poplarville graduated several important defensive leaders. It also returns two Power Four commitments and perhaps the most productive running back in Mississippi. This is not a rebuild.
The Hornets expect to be playing in November again.
Ty Keys Is One of the Biggest Names in Mississippi
There is no reason to overcomplicate this section. Ty Keys is the player Poplarville’s offense revolves around. Everyone knows it, and teams still have not figured out how to stop him. Keys rushed for 3,285 yards and 45 touchdowns on 301 carries last season. He averaged 252.7 rushing yards per game, rushed for at least 100 yards in 12 of his 13 appearances and averaged nearly 11 yards per carry.
Those numbers are difficult to comprehend. He rushed for 506 yards in the Hancock game according to Poplarville’s MaxPreps game statistics. He went for 285 against McComb. He rushed for 280 at Picayune. He produced 287 in the first playoff game against Forrest County AHS. He had 436 yards and seven touchdowns against McComb in the third round.
Then, with Columbia knowing exactly what was coming in South State, Keys still ran for 316 yards. Through three varsity seasons, he has already surpassed 5,000 career rushing yards. That production attracted just about every major program in the country. But it was Miami who won the recruiting battle.
Keys committed to the Hurricanes on May 1 after receiving offers from programs including Alabama, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Florida State, Oregon, LSU, Penn State, Nebraska and others. Rivals currently lists him among the top running backs in the 2027 class.
There will be pressure on him this fall. College recruiters will be watching. Opposing defenses will devote entire game plans to stopping him. Every road stadium Poplarville visits will know who No. 5 is. That is nothing new.
Sam LeJeune Gives Poplarville a Power Four Star on Defense, Too
Most Class 4A programs would be thrilled to have one nationally recruited senior. Poplarville has two. Defensive lineman Sam LeJeune enters the season committed to Florida State after announcing his decision in June.
The four-star lineman is listed around 6-foot-3 and 280 pounds and was ranked among the top 120 overall prospects nationally and among the top five players in Mississippi by the 247Sports Composite when he committed.
His offer list showed the level of player he has become. Florida State. Mississippi State. Ole Miss. LSU. Notre Dame. Auburn. Texas A&M. Nebraska. Southern Miss.
And plenty more.
LeJeune recorded four sacks during his junior season despite playing in the middle of a defensive front where opponents frequently had to account for him with multiple blockers.
That number only tells part of the story. A 280-pound defensive lineman capable of demanding two blockers changes everything around him. Linebackers run more freely. Edge rushers face fewer double teams.
Offenses have to reconsider where they want to run the football. LeJeune transferred into Poplarville after previously playing at St. Stanislaus and immediately became one of the most important players on the roster. Now he enters his senior year as the leader of a defensive front replacing several veterans.
LeJeune recorded four sacks during his junior season despite playing in the middle of a defensive front where opponents frequently had to account for him with multiple blockers.
The Hornets Still Have More Than Two Players
Keys and LeJeune will dominate recruiting headlines. Poplarville is dangerous because the roster does not stop there. Senior linebacker Lennox Beech intercepted four passes last season, the most on the team. He also gives Poplarville another physical defender in the middle at more than 220 pounds.
Junior defensive back Semaj Jamison picked off three passes as a sophomore and forced two fumbles. Junior running back J.T. Graham intercepted two passes while contributing offensively. Those players give the Hornets playmakers behind LeJeune.
Linebackers Ayden Harmon and Parker Pearson finished first and second on the team in tackles per game. Harmon averaged 7.2 tackles and Pearson 6.3. Defensive lineman Nathan Brown tied LeJeune for the team lead with four sacks.
Defensive end Titan Smith forced three fumbles. Replacing all of them will not happen with one player. But Poplarville has enough returning experience that the defense should not be starting from zero.
Trac Smith Gives the Offense Another Dimension
It is easy to look at Keys’ statistics and forget Poplarville occasionally lets someone else carry the football. Trac Smith is one of those players. Smith rushed for 37.8 yards per game and eight touchdowns as a sophomore while also handling most of the Hornets’ passing production. He threw five touchdown passes and finished with a quarterback rating of 116.7.
Poplarville is never going to become an Air Raid offense under Beech. The Hornets need a quarterback who can make defenses pay for committing everyone toward Keys.
If a safety begins creeping downhill, Smith needs to hit the tight end behind him. If a defensive end crashes hard on Keys, Smith needs to pull the ball and run. If the Hornets face third-and-long, he needs to give them enough of a passing threat to move the chains.
That is the job. And Smith already has varsity experience doing it. He also scored nine total touchdowns last season. With another year of development, Poplarville could become even more difficult to defend without significantly changing what it does.
Aaron Graham and Chadwick Brown Give Poplarville Big Targets
Poplarville rarely throws enough passes for its receivers to put up enormous numbers. That does not mean the passing game lacks weapons. Senior tight end Aaron Graham led Poplarville with 43.8 receiving yards per game last season.
Senior Chadwick Brown added two receiving touchdowns and gives the Hornets another physical option at tight end.
Those players fit the Poplarville offense perfectly. They have to block. They have to be willing to spend entire drives helping create running lanes. And when everyone in the stadium is watching Keys, they have to slip behind the defense and make a catch.
That is what makes Poplarville’s offense so frustrating to play. A defense can stop Keys correctly nine times. On the tenth snap, everyone steps forward and a tight end is running uncovered down the seam. Graham and Brown give the Hornets players capable of exploiting those moments.
The Offensive Line Is Built for What Poplarville Wants to Do
A running back does not rush for 3,285 yards without help. Poplarville’s offensive identity begins with physical line play, and several players who were part of last year’s rotation return.
Jordan McCollister, Eli Kekko, Jobe Lambert, Damesiz Leblanc, DJ Wager, Connor Dickerson and others were on last season’s varsity roster.
Lambert was listed at 6-foot-2 and 305 pounds. Wager was 6-foot-2 and 258. Dickerson was already more than 250 pounds as a sophomore.
That gives Poplarville something smaller classifications do not always possess: real size and depth around the line of scrimmage. The Hornets’ offense is not based on deception alone. Eventually Poplarville wants to line up, tell you where the football is going and see whether you can stop it. Most teams could not last season.
Five Games to Watch
Sept. 4 – Stone
This has quietly become one of the better small-school matchups in South Mississippi. Poplarville escaped Perkinston with a 22-21 victory last season. Stone returns a strong backfield of its own, making Keys versus the Tomcats’ running game an intriguing early test.
Sept. 11 – Hancock
Nobody who watched last year’s meeting needs much explanation. Poplarville won 60-54, and Keys produced one of the greatest rushing performances in Mississippi high school football history. Hancock comes to Poplarville this time.
Sept. 25 – at Picayune
This is always physical. Picayune beat Poplarville 28-21 last season and remains one of South Mississippi’s premier running programs. For anyone who enjoys old-school football, this one should feature very few mysteries about what either team wants to do.
Oct. 2 – McComb*
McComb beat Poplarville 35-34 during the 2025 regular season. Poplarville got revenge in spectacular fashion during the playoffs, running for 594 yards in a 55-20 victory. Round three comes in the region opener.
Oct. 30 – Columbia*
This is the one. Columbia beat Poplarville twice last season. The Wildcats won 49-28 during the regular season and then ended Poplarville’s year 20-14 in the South State championship. The rematch comes in Poplarville on the final Friday night of the regular season.
There is a very good chance the Region 7-4A championship will be at stake.
2026 Poplarville Schedule
Aug. 21 – at Vancleave
Aug. 28 – at West Harrison
Sept. 4 – Stone
Sept. 11 – Hancock
Sept. 18 – Pearl River Central
Sept. 25 – at Picayune
Oct. 2 – McComb*
Oct. 9 – Open
Oct. 16 – at South Pike*
Oct. 23 – at Lawrence County*
Oct. 30 – Columbia*
*Region 7-4A game.
Magnolia Coast Sports Outlook
Poplarville is not going to sneak up on anyone.
Not with Keys.
Not with LeJeune.
Not after reaching at least the Class 4A semifinals in three consecutive seasons.
The Hornets have legitimate questions on defense after losing Harmon, Pearson, Brown and Smith, but there is simply too much high-end talent returning to project a major decline.
Keys alone changes games.
LeJeune can control the interior defensively.
Beech and Jamison give the secondary and linebacker group returning playmakers, while Smith has another year of experience running an offense perfectly suited to the personnel around him.
The schedule is difficult.
Stone, Hancock, Picayune and Pearl River Central give the Hornets strong non-region tests, and Columbia proved twice last season that it can beat them.
That Columbia game is why I would not simply hand Poplarville the region championship in August.
But this is one of the few teams in the Pine Belt with a realistic argument that anything short of another deep postseason run would be disappointing.
Poplarville won the state championship two years ago.
It came six points short of returning last season.
With perhaps the best running back in Mississippi and a Florida State commitment anchoring the defense, the window is wide open again.
Magnolia Coast Sports Prediction: 9-1 regular season, Region 7-4A champions and another trip to the Class 4A South State championship game, with a legitimate chance to return to the state title game if the rebuilt defense develops around LeJeune.
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