By MAURICE SINGLETON/Sports Writer

GULFPORT — The Gulfport Admirals (5-2. 2-0, district) capitalized on two huge third quarter defensive plays, which resulted into two touchdowns in the period on their way to a 38-19 win over D’Iberville (3-4, 0-2, district) on Friday.

D’Iberville trailed Gulfport 14-13 at halftime, but the Warriors opened the second half with a decent drive, picking up two first downs with two runs of 13 yards each, but things changed dramatically for Gulfport as their defense denied the visitors a third first down, stopping them on fourth-and-three, and regaining the ball on downs.

The Admirals’ offense rode the momentum from the defensive stop by going 71 yards on nine plays as junior Cooper Crosby carried on five of those plays, picking up 20 yards on one carry before carrying it in from three yards out to increase the Admirals’ lead to 21-13 after Jesus Cardenas third PAT kick.

“That stop was a momentum shift, got us going, gave us some momentum, put up a score,” said Admirals coach Blake Pennock. “And we just rolled from there.

“It was a great team win,” said Pennock. “Offense did a great job; defense did a great job.”

On their ensuing possession, the Warriors were flagged on consecutive possessions for holding, and the following play resulted in a sack. And things got even worse for the visitors on the next snap as they fumbled the ball away to the Admirals twenty yards away from another score.

And once again, the Admirals would capitalize, adding another score on three plays, this time featuring Dakoreyon Payton, who would carry twice on the possession, first going for 18 yards before carrying it in from 2 yards out. The Admirals would extend their lead to 28-13.

D’Iberville’s offense would respond with a 62-yard drive, including a 17-yard pass play and a 35-yard Jayquan Havard carry. Havard would also carry from 1 yard out for the touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter. The PAT kick failed, resulting in the Warriors trailing Gulfport by 9 points (28-19).

Gulfport would close out the game’s scoring on their ensuing possession, capping a 9-play drive with a 28-yard Cardenas’ field goal.

D’Iberville got on the scoreboard first by capitalizing on an early Admirals’ mistake, as Gulfport attempted to catch the visitors off-guard with a 40-yard pass attempt on the game’s first play from scrimmage. The Warriors intercepted it and returned it 26 yards to the Gulfport 42-yard line.

From there the Warriors put together a 9-play drive capped by a 3-yard Jaylen Johnson carry for the game’s opening score. The PAT kick failed.

Gulfport’s offense responded as Sullivan connected with Krisjeohn Burks on three consecutive passes for gains of 19, 5 and 9 yards before connecting with Payton for 9 yards to the Warriors’ 4-yard line. Crosby carried it in from 3 yards out to put the Admirals on the scoreboard, and the Admirals would take a 7-6 lead after Jesus Cardenas PAT kick.

D’Iberville put together their longest drive midway through the second quarter, going 88 yards on ten plays. Jerimiah Butler had a carry for 18 yards on the drive, and quarterback Jordan Walley completed two passes on drive, a 20-yard play to Keilan Stepter and a 10-yard scoring toss to Malakai Knight. The Warriors regained the lead at 13-7 following Jorge Lara’s PAT kick.

The lead didn’t last long as the Admirals made quick work of their ensuing possession, going 63-yards on six snaps with Sullivan connecting with Burks on four of those plays for catches of 16, 13, 11, and 10 yards, the latter for a touchdown to give the Admirals a 14-13 lead, a lead they would not give up.

“I’m proud of my kids,” said Warriors’ coach Josh Ladner. “They played hard. In the end, we didn’t quite close the gap. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

D’Iberville will host Harrison Central next Friday night. Gulfport will host St. Martin.