By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

Milner Magic was in the air Friday night in Gulfport.
The home-standing Admirals bombed Brandon 40-7 in the Class 7A South State finals at historic Milner Stadium. The win pushes Gulfport in to its first state championship game in 43 years, as the Admirals will meet defending Class 7A state champion Tupelo next Saturday night at 7:30 in Starkville at Davis-Wade Stadium with the Class 7A state title on the line.

Gulfport standout senior running back Cooper Crosby ran for four touchdowns in the first three quarters as the Admirals never trailed.

The only other trip to the overall state final round for Gulfport came in 1982 when the Admirals fell to West Point 21-14 in Meridian at Ray Stadium.
Gulfport is the first team from the three coastal counties on the Mississippi Gulf Coast to play for a state football championship in the largest classification since Ocean Springs did so in 2004. The Admirals will be looking to win the first state crown for a “Southern Six” squad in the largest classification since Moss Point did so 25 years ago in the 2000 season.
The Admirals are 11-12 overall and have won 10 straight games. It also marks the first time in the history of the program that GHS has won three straight playoff games in the same season.

Tupelo rallied from a 20-7 halftime deficit to nip visiting Oxford 21-20 in the Class 7A North State finals and return to the state title tilt.

Meanwhile, Hattiesburg pummeled Picayune 47-27 in the Class 6A South State championship contest.
Picayune ends the season at 10-3. Hattiesburg will face Warren Central for the Class 6A state title next Friday night in Starkville.
And, the season also came to an end for the defending Class 4A state champion Poplarville with a 20-14 loss to home-standing Columbia.
Columbia quarterback Clyde Peters raced 31-yards with the game-winning score with just over two minutes to play to erase a 14-12 deficit and secure the win.
Columbia is now 14-0.