By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director
GULFPORT — One has made his mark as a junior while one has done it more so in his final season, but Friday’s Class 7A South State championship match-up may come down to a tale of two tailbacks.
When Gulfport hosts Brandon in Milner Stadium with a berth in the Class 7A overall state championship round on the line, The Admirals will feature senior standout Cooper Crosby coming out of the backfield while the Bulldogs will counter with junior stalwart and four-star recruit Tyson Robinson.

“He is an explosive runner, a great talent.” Gulfport head coach Blake Pennock said of Robinson. “You can tell he’s a really tough kid that has played well through some injuries.”

And Pennock should know something about top notch ball-carriers, because he sees one every day in Crosby.

Crosby has guided Gulfport to its best season in 26 years and he has improved his recruiting stock along the way. The Admirals sit at 10-2 overall with a nine game win streak, which is the first of that length also since the 1999 season which was the last time GHS played for South State.
Crosby came into the season committed to Louisiana-Lafayette after a pretty solid junior campaign, but he has elevated his play to another level in his final year at GHS as he has rushed for 1,443 yards on 222 carries with 28 touchdowns. He also has seven more scores and 558 yards receiving on 44 catches, giving him just over 2,000 yards of total offense and 35 total touchdowns.
The 6-foot, 205-pound powerful Crosby has eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark seven times this season. He also had rang up 244 yards returning kicks and has a kickoff return for a touchdown as well.

He has picked up offers from Auburn and Mississippi State, among others in the past couple of months and was also named to represent his home state in the prestigious Alabama/Mississippi All-Star Game next month.
Meanwhile, as a junior, Robinon assembled a breakout sophomore campaign, helping Brandon go 12-2 and reach Mississippi’s 7A title game. He carried the ball 176 times for 1,295 yards and 24 touchdowns while coming out of the backfield for 42 catches for 668 yards and 10 more scores.
And while he missed most of this season with an injury, he saved his best for last after his return leading Brandon to four straight wins after a 3-5 start in his absence.

The speedy and versatile 5-foot-9, 195-pounder scored the game-winning touchdown in a huge overtime upset of perennial state power 30-27 on the road last week. Prior to that, he completely took over the opening-round playoff game at Ocean Springs as he raced 45-yards out of the Wildcat formation lined up as a quarterback for the final score with just under five minutes to play in a 13-10 win to end the season for the Greyhounds.
“He is our guy,” BHS interim head coach Eugene Clinton said. “We just had to feed the beast and he took over for us.”
Robinson, considered the top running back in the state heading into next season, recently narrowed his college choices down to 10 programs, including Texas, Ole Miss, Alabama, Michigan and Texas A&M, just to name half. He was recently chosen to play in the 2026 Polynesian Bowl.