The fourth quarter was not in favor of the Gulfport Admirals (2-1) in their 31-21 loss to the Madison Central Jaguars on Friday in Madison.
Similar to last year’s 23-21 Gulfport loss to Madison Central, the game was decided in the last few minutes.
Two days after Hurricane Francine, Gulfport came out swinging with an interception by Admirals defensive back Tre’Von Deans. It led to a short drive that resulted in a 5-yard touchdown pass from Dane Sullivan to Krisjeohn Burks for an early 7-0 score.
This would be the last score for Gulfport until the third quarter as the Admirals gained a mere 10 yards during the second quarter.
The Jaguars’ senior players took over the rest of the first half with running back Glen Singleton and quarterback Jaiden Johnson helping the team gain 224 yards and score three touchdowns for a 21-7 halftime lead.
The Admirals came back in the third quarter with a goal-line stop that was followed by a 3-yard touchdown by running back Cooper Crosby with 4:15 left in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 21-14.
Madison Central started the final quarter by running counter traps up the field until Singleton finally dove in from 7 yards out for a 28-14 Jaguars lead.
However, Gulfport did not go away without a fight as Sullivan found tight end Shannon Stewart on a 27-yard fourth-down pass for the Admirals’ final touchdown.
With 5:23 left, the Admirals were only down 28-21, but Madison Central marched down the field to set up Jack Richardson for a 43-yard field goal and a 31-21 lead to secure the victory with 1:16 left in the game.
Gulfport accounted for 254 yards. Sullivan threw for 110 yards, finishing 10-of-23 with two touchdowns. Crosby had 75 total yards (rushing and receiving) with one touchdown.
The Admirals defense was led by Andre Peters III with 20 tackles, but Gulfport allowed 413 yards.
For the 66th time, Gulfport will play Picayune on Sept. 20. The Maroon Tide will host the game at Lee-Triplett Stadium at 7 p.m.
