By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

GULFPORT — One of the most highly-anticipated first round state playoff match-ups in the state takes place here at the new Gulfport High on-campus stadium this week.

It’s a rematch from last year’s Class 7A South State championship showdown, as Gulfport hosts Brandon for the second time in just less than a year.

The Bulldogs head south for the second straight season to open the Class 7A South State playoffs, and for the third time in a year after they upset home-standing Ocean Springs on the road last year.

This marks just the 13th all-time meeting between the two teams on the football field, but it will be the fourth straight season they have faced off on the gridiron also. The Admirals snapped a six game losing streak in the series last season, with a resounding 40-7 win at home in that Class 7A South State championship game.

Gulfport went on to win the state title the next week.

Brandon is the fourth seed in Region 3-7A, with a record of 7-3. The Admirals, who won Region 4-7A for the second straight season, sit an impressive 9-1 overall.

The Bulldogs have now played in the last five South State title tilts in the state, no matter if the classification was Class 6A or Class 7A, and six of the past seven. Brandon knocked off OSHS twice for the South State title, each time on the road, in both 2022 and 2024.

Brandon has yet to win a state championship, however, despite four appearances in the finals over the past 14 years.

The Bulldogs will have in tow “Class 7A Mr. Football” when they sail into Harrison County Friday night, in running back Tyson Robinson. The 5-foot-10, 200-pound running back, a University of Michigan commit, has carried the ball 161 times for right at 1,400 yards (8.6 yards per carry) and 19 touchdowns and has also grabbed 15 catches for 177 yards and five more scores so far this year.

However, he will face what most observers agree is one of the top defensive units in the state when the Admirals line up across the line of scrimmage from him later this week.

Gulfport’s defense consists of standouts up front such as defensive linemen, Lawrence Robertson, Jordyn Fernandez, Jysavian Causey and Nick Strickland up front as well as linebackers Deandre Williams, Colton Crandle and Vic Labega on the next level pus Defensive backs Cordarious Payton, Javious Hales and Jayvonne Pollard in the secondary.