STARKVILLE (AP) — Marcus Murphy ran for 141 yards and three touchdowns, and West Point beat Laurel 29-8 on Saturday night to win the MHSAA Class 5A football championship.

The Green Wave (14-1) won their eighth state championship and first since 2010.

Laurel (13-2) came into the game averaging more than 400 yards of total offense per game, but managed only 98 yards against West Point’s potent defense. The Green Wave defense sacked Laurel quarterback Tyquan Ulmer three times.

Clayton Knight threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Semaje Harris to give West Point a 10-0 lead in the second quarter. Jose Garcia added a 36-yard field goal for the Green Wave.

Ulmer completed 5 of 16 passes for 74 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown pass to Je’Vah Jones in the second quarter that cut West Point’s lead to 10-6. The Golden Tornadoes also blocked a punt that resulted in a safety.

Ulmer had thrown for 3,162 yards and 41 touchdowns this season prior to the championship game.

Lafayette 27, Poplarville 12
Lafayette built a big first-half lead and then leaned on its stingy defense to beat Poplarville 27-12 and win the Class 4A championship.

Lafayette (13-2) won its third state title and first since 2011.

The Commodores held Poplarville to just 89 rushing yards in the first half and forced two turnovers. The second was a 65-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Brandon Turnage with 17 seconds left in the second quarter that gave Lafayette a 20-0 halftime lead.

Lafayette’s Will Ard was 6-of-7 passing for 104 yards, one touchdown and one interception. His touchdown pass was a 77-yarder to Tyler Williams that gave Lafayette a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

Poplarville (12-2) was led by Jesse Pernell, who ran for 216 yards and a touchdown.

Kemper County 12, Charleston 8

Eric Clark threw two touchdown passes to D.J. Clayton, and Kemper County beat Charleston 12-8 in the Class 3A championship game.

The Wildcats (15-1) won their first state championship and ended their season on a 15-game winning streak.

Clark finished the game 9-of-20 passing for 251 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Clayton had five catches for 229 yards with two touchdowns. Clark’s first touchdown to Clayton was a 64-yarder that gave Kemper County a 6-0 lead in the first quarter.

The second was a 48-yard strike with 5:42 left in the fourth quarter that gave the Wildcats a 12-8 lead.
Quarterback Tre Truly led Charleston (13-3) with 80 rushing yards. Fred Hervey scored the Tigers’ lone touchdown on an 11-yard run in the third quarter to give Charleston a 8-6 lead.

Charleston was making its fifth championship game appearance in six seasons, but its only state title came in 2011.