Milner gets magical send-off. Gulfport blasts Brandon to capture South State title
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Gulfport shut out Brandon 40-0 to win the South State championship.
- Cooper Crosby scored four touchdowns as Gulfport scored six first-half TDs.
- Gulfport advances to first state title game since 1982 in program history.
Gulfport brought magic to Milner Stadium one last time.
The Admirals emphatically claimed the program’s first South State championship and second-ever ticket to the state title game with a 40-7 destruction of visiting Brandon in the school’s final game in the building built in 1948.
Cooper Crosby scored four touchdowns for an Admiral offense that found the end zone on each of their first six possessions while their defense pitched the third shutout of the season.
“I felt really good about our plan going into the game, I felt really good about our matchups,” Gulfport’s third-year coach told the Sun Herald. “Their defense is really, really stout and so teams have played kind of sloppy against them in the first couple of rounds. We wanted to be sure we could be able to execute and with that being the case, 40-7 speaks pretty loud.”
The Bulldogs have the honor of being both the first and last visitor to Milner Stadium, fairing no better than the 1948 team that received a 38-0 drubbing from the Commodores.
Gulfport is in the process of moving game days to campus with the construction of a new stadium expected to be completed before the 2026 season. The Admirals leave their 38th Avenue home having won their last six games in the storied building.
“You couldn’t have written it any better.” Crosby said.
Crosby and the Admirals offense made quick work of their counterparts. Crosby scored untouched from 30 yards on the first possession of the game and quarterback Parker Nettles followed with a short touchdown pass to Cooper Gouin after a brief Brandon drive.
Crosby would score on runs of 55 and 25 yards in the second quarter and Nettles squeezed another score into the first half with a 16-yard sprint to the pylon that opened up a 33-0 lead.
“(Brandon) kind of stays in the same defense, for the most part,” Pennock said. “Obviously they’re really good. They’re good at all 11 spots on defense, but there’s opportunities there when you stay middle-field closed. We did a good job, had a great plan and credit to our staff for that.”
Crosby added a short touchdown run in the second half that put the Admirals up 40-0 and gave the senior back his 40th score of the season.
The Bulldogs entered the night allowing just 19 points per game during a tumultuous season under two different head coaches. Gulfport is the first Mississippi team to score 40 on Brandon since Clinton on Sept. 13, 2024.
Gulfport will play for a state championship for the first time since 1982. It’s the first team from the Coast’s highest classification to reach the final round since George County in 2007 and will try to be the first to win it since Moss Point in 2000 when the Admirals meet Tupelo at Davis Wade Stadium next Saturday.
“Preparation is key, we just have to be prepared,” Crosby said. “We’re going to go up to Starkville next week and wreak havoc.”
The Admirals are scheduled to kick off against Tupelo on Dec. 6 at 7 p.m.
This story was originally published November 28, 2025 at 9:11 PM.
