Gulfport Wins State Title With Miracle in Starkville

by Hunter Dawkins, Owner/Publisher – editor@thegazebogazette.com or hdawkins@supertalk.fm

STARKVILLE (GG) — With a classic 20 second series that movies are made of, the Gulfport Admirals football team (12-2) tossed a 33-yard touchdown pass from Quarterback Parker Nettles to Wide Receiver Mylan Stubbs as time expired. Following the Carter Platt extra point (PAT) kick, the Gulfport Admirals won their first MHSAA State Championship in school history 21-20 over the Tupelo Golden Wave at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville Saturday, December 6, 2025.

Gulfport Head Football Coach Blake Pennock entitled the deep pass catch “The Rebound” play, which he indicated the Admiral players all knew the play and executed the exact way.

“When you run a play that these guys frequently go through, they execute it easily,” expressed Pennock in his third year and first state title as a head coach. “I have coached a number of good quarterbacks in my career and Parker Nettles is one of the best at finishing up the drive in 20 seconds.”

In a tale of two halves, the Admirals controlled the ball in the first half with two lengthy touchdown (54 & 20) runs from Mississippi State commit Cooper Crosby. Crosby finished with 167 on 26 carries and 45 yards receiving on 1 catch.

The halftime score was 14-7 in favor of Gulfport.

On the first series of the second half, Tupelo drove down the field in 13 plays resulting in an 8-yard touchdown run from Kylan Bobo with 4:27 left in the fourth quarter and a 14-14 tie. Gulfport countered with an 11-play drive, but penalties and mishaps led to a 28-yard field goal attempt from Platt that missed left.

As both teams traded possession, Tupelo took their first lead after 2025 Mr. 7A Football Jaeden Hill dove in from three yards out on a 7-yard drive with 27 seconds left in the game and the Golden Wave took the lead 20-14. One important detail was that Gulfport coach Pennock called a timeout before Hill scored the touchdown to give time on the clock along with Tupelo missing the extra point.

Offensively, Gulfport outpaced the Golden Wave with 376 yards to 266, mainly from Nettles tossing 228 yards on 12-19 attempts passing and a touchdown. Both teams had 49 plays, but the Admirals had 7 penalties for 50 yards.

Defensively, linebackers Deandre Williams and Andre Peters III combined for 21 tackles, a breakup, and 5 solo tackles. Despite missing the short field goal, Platt made all three extra points and punted four times for 35.3 yards, including one inside the 20.

After the game, Cooper Crosby was named the Most Valuable Player of the 7A MHSAA State Championship Game. Before the contest, Crosby was named scholar-athlete of the game.

Historical Notes for 2025: