Two dominant backs in Jordan Stapleton and Cooper Crosby are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The West Harrison Hurricanes will be playing in front of their home fans against the Gulfport Admirals at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
West Harrison's defense heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They strolled past Harrison Central with points to spare, taking the game 18-0. Given the Hurricanes' advantage in MaxPreps' Mississippi football rankings (they are ranked 24th, while the Red Rebels are ranked 98th) , the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
This one was won in the trenches and the lion's share of the credit has to go to Sean Fairley and Julian Chong. Fairley rushed for 249 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 8.6 yards per carry while Chong rushed for 188 yards while picking up 11.1 yards per carry. Those three rushing touchdowns gave Fairley a new career-high.
West Harrison's run defense was locked in: Harrison Central could only muster 1.7 yards per carry. The team can thank Jazear Carter for the heroic effort on defense: he. West Harrison didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 8.2.
Jazear Carter
| 10/09/25 @ Harrison Central | 12 |
| 10/03/25 vs D'Iberville | 11 |
| 09/26/25 @ St. Martin | 9 |
| 09/19/25 vs Laurel | 10 |
| 09/12/25 vs Gautier | 6 |
| + 11 more games |
West Harrison's defense didn't let Caleb Russell, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for four sacks. Carter was especially locked on to Harrison Central's QB and sacked him twice. Carter has been hot for a while, having also posted five or more total tackles the last 16 times he's played. West Harrison got some further help from Eddie Hartwell: he picked up a sack and made ten total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Gulfport entered their tilt with St. Martin on Friday with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They took their game with ease, bagging a 40-0 win over the Yellow Jackets. The Admirals pushed the score to 27-0 by the end of the third, a deficit the Yellow Jackets had little chance of recovering from.
Gulfport's win came from a few key players West Harrison will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Parker Nettles, who threw for 289 yards and three TDs while picking up 11.1 yards per attempt. His passing game has become a key predictor of Gulfport's success: the team is undefeated when his passer rating is 100 or higher, but only 1-2 otherwise. The Admirals' leading receiver Camden Morgan was Nettles' top target yet again, picking up 117 receiving yards and a pair of scores.
West Harrison's victory bumped their record up to 6-1. As for Gulfport, their win bumped their record up to 4-2.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground. West Harrison has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 344 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Gulfport struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 171 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's matchup turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Everything went West Harrison's way against Gulfport in their previous meeting back in October of 2020, as West Harrison made off with a 21-0 victory. Will the Hurricanes repeat their success, or do the Admirals have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
